Examining Associations between Classroom Environment and Processes and Early Mathematics Performance from Pre-Kindergarten to Kindergarten

One benefit of the No Child Left Behind legislation (2001) has been the increasing attention on the importance of the skills learned in the pre-kindergarten period for later academic achievement (Denton & West, 2002; National Mathematics Advisory Panel, 2008; Whitehurst, 2001). There is a growing awareness that mathematics skills in kindergarten and beyond are influenced by the formal and informal mathematics skills acquired in the pre-kindergarten classroom. Indeed, policy makers, researchers, and educators are now arguing that pre-kindergarten mathematics instruction must be recognized as a critical factor affecting young children’s mathematics learning at school age (Ginsburg, Lee & Boyd, 2008). The National Mathematics Advisory Panel\u27s final report (2008) has recommended using a research-based, streamlined mathematics curriculum in pre-kindergarten to give children a strong start in conceptual understanding of mathematics. In addition, the National Association for the Education of Young Children and National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (2002) issued a joint statement affirming the importance of high quality, challenging, and accessible mathematics instruction in broad areas of number, operations, geometry, measurement, and algebra