Achievement gaps and correlates of early mathematics achievement: Evidence from the ECLS K—first grade sample. Vol. 13 No. 46

Authors

  • Madhabi Chatterji Teachers College, Columbia University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.v13n46.2005

Keywords:

achievement gap, early childhood, primary grades, Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS), correlates and moderators of mathematics achievement.

Abstract

In light of the NCLB Act of 2001, this study estimated mathematics achievement gaps in different subgroups of kindergartners and first graders, and identified child- and school-level correlates and moderators of early mathematics achievement. A subset of 2300 students nested in 182 schools from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study K-First Grade data set was analyzed with hierarchical linear models. Relative to school mean estimates at the end of kindergarten, significant mathematics achievement gaps were found in Hispanics, African Americans and high poverty students. At the end of Grade 1, mathematics gaps were significant in African American, high poverty, and female subgroups, but not in Hispanics. School-level correlates of Grade 1 Mathematics achievement were class size (with a small negative main effect), at-home reading time by parents (with a large positive main effect) and school size (with a small positive main effect). Cross-level interactions in Grade 1 indicated that schools with larger class and school sizes had a negative effect on African American children's math scores; schools giving more instructional time to reading and math had a positive effect on high poverty students' scores, and schools with higher elementary teacher certification rates had a positive effect on boys' mathematics achievement.

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Author Biography

Madhabi Chatterji, Teachers College, Columbia University

Madhabi Chatterji, Associate Professor of Measurement, Evaluation, and Education at Teachers College, Columbia University, has research interests in designing classroom- and school-based assessment systems; development and validation of construct measures with classical and Rasch measurement methods; and in evaluating standards-based educational reforms and small- and large-scale interventions with systemic models. Her most recently-initiated research, supported by the National Science Foundation in 2004, deals with addressing K-12 achievement gaps in mathematics using a teacher-mediated model of "proximal" assessment and data use. Another line of inquiry deals with gathering research-based evidence on field interventions using mixed-method research designs.

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Published

2005-11-23

How to Cite

Chatterji, M. (2005). Achievement gaps and correlates of early mathematics achievement: Evidence from the ECLS K—first grade sample. Vol. 13 No. 46. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 13, 46. https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.v13n46.2005

Issue

Section

Articles