Children's developmental readiness in kindergarten can predict their math achievement as late as Grade 9, according to research from the University of Toronto's Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE).
In one of the first studies of its kind in Ontario, province-wide data on 25,000 students was used to assess five dimensions of school readiness at kindergarten: physical health and well-being; social competence; emotional maturity; language and cognitive development; and communication skills and general knowledge.
The study, published in the Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science , found a strong association between these early developmental measures and math achievement through elementary and into high school.
"This study has strong public relevance because it uses large-scale longitudinal Ontario data to examine how children's developmental readiness in kindergarten predicts math achievement through Grade 9," said lead author Fatemeh Ameli, a Canadian Postdoctoral Research Award fellow and sessional lecturer at OISE.
Language and cognitive readiness emerged as the strongest and most consistent predictor of later math achievement.
Physical well-being and social competence were also associated with later math outcomes in key analyses, highlighting the importance of school readiness measures beyond early academic skills alone.
Children who were less developmentally ready in kindergarten tended to have lower math scores beginning in Grade 3, and these differences largely persisted into Grade 9.
Although the gaps between children who were on track and not on track in language and cognitive readiness narrowed slightly over time, they did not disappear.
The study extends previous Canadian research by following the relationship between kindergarten readiness and academic achievement beyond the elementary years and into high school, an important contribution given the limited availability of longitudinal education data in Canada.
"Early readiness can predict later achievement, but it does not determine a child's future," said Ameli, who carried out the research as part of her doctoral dissertation under the supervision of Scott Davies, a professor in OISE's department of leadership, higher and adult education. "Our findings highlight the importance of supporting children's development early and taking a holistic approach that considers cognitive, social and physical readiness."
The researchers say the findings underscore the potential value of early, universal supports that address multiple dimensions of children's development.
The research was co-authored with Professor Magdalena Janus and Associate Professor Eric Duku of the Offord Centre for Child Studies at McMaster University, and supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).
