Asian kindergarten students more likely to display advanced math, science skills, new study finds

[Anonymous]

Disparities in advanced math and science skills among different racial backgrounds emerge early on in a student’s development, a new study has found.

The study, conducted by researchers from Pennsylvania State University, University of California, Irvine and University of Texas Health Science Center, found that 16% of Asian students displayed advanced math skills during kindergarten.

The percentage dropped slightly for white students at 13% while both Black and Hispanic students were at 4%.

The findings, first published in Sage Journals on Nov. 8, come from an analysis of a national sample of around 11,000 U.S. elementary school students, covering the start of kindergarten until the end of fifth grade.

The disparities remained consistent throughout elementary years, with 22% of Asian students displaying advanced math skills by fifth grade. In the same grade, 13% of white students, 3% of Hispanic students and 2% of Black students registered the same skills.

The disparities are similarly reflected in advanced science skills.

https://news.yahoo.com/asian-kindergarten-students-more-likely-230230196.html

[Anonymous]

Why would anyone undertake such a study?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why would anyone undertake such a study?

More evidence that the achievement gap starts in the home, not the school system.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why would anyone undertake such a study?

Why wouldn't they?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why would anyone undertake such a study?

More evidence that the achievement gap starts in the home, not the school system.

This is probably the bigger issue if Asian's (and some others like us) supplement at home and put our kids in more academically geared preschools. Maybe we should start looking at the play based preschools that are not preparing kids for K.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why would anyone undertake such a study?

Because there's a lot of anecdotal evidence that Asian and White students get better teaching and support in schools and that schools do not do enough to provide such support to URM and they get "left behind" because they are valued less as students. This is trying to show that by the time they get to the school-age years and enter into ES, that there is already a discrepancy that may not be because of different treatment.

[Anonymous]

I think everyone knows that achievement starts in the home. Is this even up for debate?

Some of this is cultural. One of the other moms (a recent immigrant) in my kid's K classroom looked aghast when I said I'd taught my kid to read. She said no way- isn't that what school is for? She didn't want to mess up the instruction her kid would receive in K.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think everyone knows that achievement starts in the home. Is this even up for debate?

Some of this is cultural. One of the other moms (a recent immigrant) in my kid's K classroom looked aghast when I said I'd taught my kid to read. She said no way- isn't that what school is for? She didn't want to mess up the instruction her kid would receive in K.

I don't know any Asian immigrant who would be aghast at teaching your kids to read at home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why would anyone undertake such a study?

More evidence that the achievement gap starts in the home, not the school system.

Did we need more evidence of this? I mean, I guess yes we did. I would guess that Asian and White parents are more likely to read to their kids and play games that involve counting and numbers with their kids which is why their kids are ahead. Asian families are more likely to supplement in STEM fields then White families which si why the percent of Asian kids who are ahead increases and the White kids is stagnant.

This is hardly surprising.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why would anyone undertake such a study?

More evidence that the achievement gap starts in the home, not the school system.

Did we need more evidence of this? I mean, I guess yes we did. I would guess that Asian and White parents are more likely to read to their kids and play games that involve counting and numbers with their kids which is why their kids are ahead. Asian families are more likely to supplement in STEM fields then White families which si why the percent of Asian kids who are ahead increases and the White kids is stagnant.

This is hardly surprising.

Many Asian parents cannot read to their kids in English and such disadvantage does not apply to black parents.

[Anonymous]

To quote the study, "The antecedent factor of family socioeconomic status and the propensity factors of student science, mathematics, and reading achievement by kindergarten consistently explained whether students displayed advanced science or mathematics achievement during first, second, third, fourth, or fifth grade."

So this isn't about race, it's really about socioeconomic status of the family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To quote the study, "The antecedent factor of family socioeconomic status and the propensity factors of student science, mathematics, and reading achievement by kindergarten consistently explained whether students displayed advanced science or mathematics achievement during first, second, third, fourth, or fifth grade."

So this isn't about race, it's really about socioeconomic status of the family.

Race and SES are highly correlated

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think everyone knows that achievement starts in the home. Is this even up for debate?

Some of this is cultural. One of the other moms (a recent immigrant) in my kid's K classroom looked aghast when I said I'd taught my kid to read. She said no way- isn't that what school is for? She didn't want to mess up the instruction her kid would receive in K.

I don't know any Asian immigrant who would be aghast at teaching your kids to read at home.

Maybe the immigrant wasn't Asian?

[Anonymous]

This isn’t rocket science! It’s simply making your kid do extra math, which tends to be more culturally acceptable in Asian families. That’s not at all to detract from the acheivement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To quote the study, "The antecedent factor of family socioeconomic status and the propensity factors of student science, mathematics, and reading achievement by kindergarten consistently explained whether students displayed advanced science or mathematics achievement during first, second, third, fourth, or fifth grade."

So this isn't about race, it's really about socioeconomic status of the family.

Race and SES are highly correlated

Not always. In NYC, for example, the Asian community there is among the poorest if not the poorest. Yet, they are highly represented in NYC magnet schools.