Kids May Understand Large Numbers Better Than We Think
Wednesday, December 18, 2013 - 23:00
in Psychology & Sociology
A paper in the journal Child Development says that children as young as 3 understand multi-digit numbers more than previously believed and may even be ready for direct math instruction when they enter school. This will have implications for the debate over education policy, where the chronic lament is that children are not being taught to the test enough and therefore only score in the middle on international standardized tests. "Contrary to the view that young children do not understand place value and multi-digit numbers, we found that they actually know quite a lot about it," said co-author Kelly Mix, Michigan State University psychologist. "They are more ready than we think when they enter kindergarten." read more