By Bruce Bower
Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 Count on evolution to play favorites. When it comes to math achievement, some kids may start out with an inherent advantage.
A portion of 14-year-olds deftly estimate approximate quantities of items without counting, whereas others do so with either moderate or limited success, a new study finds. The ability is evolutionarily ancient and cannot be taught, but tends to get better with age. Large variations in this number sense closely parallel youngsters’ mathematics achievement scores from kindergarten to sixth grade, concludes a team reporting in the Sept. 7 Nature and led by psychologist Justin Halberda of JohnsHopkinsUniversity in Baltimore.
Earlier studies indicated that a faculty for rapidly estimating approximate quantities appears by age 4 months, long before any math instruction. How precisely a child can estimate amounts may influence math learning and achievement, Halberda proposes. He and his colleagues are now assessing this ability in 3-year-olds whose math achievement in elementary school will be tracked.
It’s also possible that high-quality or intensive math instruction may increase the accuracy of a person’s number estimates. Halberda suspects that if such effects exist, they’re relatively small.