Math preschoolers calculate better at 10 years

William Atkins
Monday, 01 September 2008 19:06

Science - Biology

The August 29, 2008 article “Preschool tied to higher math skills” in the Boston Globe states, “The finding may buttress the case made by advocates of universal preschool education in the United States, where the federal government provides such programs only for children from low-income families. By contrast, the UK has paid for preschool for all 3- and 4-year-olds since 2004, regardless of their parents' earnings.”

Dr. Melhuish stated, "Preschool boosts the child's cognitive language and social development. Therefore when the child starts school, the child benefits more from the school experience and many aspects of development are better, including math scores." [Boston Globe]

The Boston Globe article concludes by saying, “According to NIEER [National Institute for Early Education Research, Rutgers University], US states have been increasing funding for preschool. In the 2006-2007 school year, 38 states spent $3.72 billion on preschool programs, an increase of 14 percent from the previous year.”

“What children learn at home is most important in determining how well they perform in school, the authors said. Another factor greater than preschool is the quality of the elementary school itself, they wrote. ‘A child who has a good home learning environment, good preschool, and good primary school will do better than a child with only two,’ Melhuish said. ‘The difference between a child's development with all three compared to none is very great.’” [Boston Globe]

"’A child who has a good home learning environment, good preschool, and good primary school will do better than a child with only two,’ Melhuish said. ‘The difference between a child's development with all three compared to none is very great.’” [Boston Globe]