Eleven crucial kindergarten skills that lead to future success
Australian kindergarten students whose classmates start school with core literacy and numeracy skills perform considerably better in maths and science by year 4, new research based on global test results has found.
The latest instalment of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) asked principals to estimate how many of their year 4 students could complete 11 key literacy and numeracy skills when they started school.
The skills included recognising most letters of the alphabet, reading some words, identifying written numbers from one to 10, and doing simple addition and subtraction.
Analysis by the Australian Council for Educational Research found that, in schools where 75 per cent of students began school with at least six of the 11 skills, children went on to perform significantly better in the year 4 maths and science TIMSS tests.
On average, these children scored 570 in year 4 maths and 585 in year 4 science, placing them in the 'high' benchmark for achievement.
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In contrast, schools where less than 25 per cent of students started kindergarten with these foundational skills scored lower in year 4 maths and science tests: an average of 509 for maths, and 539 for science, placing them in the bottom of the 'intermediate' achievement band.
Year 4 has long been considered a crucial year for student development, said Australian Council for Educational Research senior research fellow and report co-author Dr Dan Cloney.
'Learning is cumulative,' he said, adding that what a student learns from age two to four is 'a really strong predictor' of their learning in upper primary and senior high school.
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