title: Math at home adds up to achievement in school.
abstract: With a randomized field experiment of 587 first-graders, we tested an educational intervention designed to promote interactions between children and parents relating to math. We predicted that increasing math activities at home would increase children's math achievement at school. We tested this prediction by having children engage in math story time with their parents. The intervention, short numerical story problems delivered through an iPad app, significantly increased children's math achievement across the school year compared to a reading (control) group, especially for children whose parents are habitually anxious about math. Brief, high-quality parent-child interactions about math at home help break the intergenerational cycle of low math achievement.
authors.affiliation: University of Chicago, Department of Psychology, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
authors.forename: Talia
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Berkowitz
authors.affiliation: University of Chicago, Department of Psychology, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
authors.forename: Marjorie W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Schaeffer
authors.affiliation: University of Chicago, Department of Psychology, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
authors.forename: Erin A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Maloney
authors.affiliation: University of Chicago, Department of Psychology, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
authors.forename: Lori
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Peterson
authors.affiliation: University of Chicago, Department of Psychology, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
authors.forename: Courtney
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gregor
authors.affiliation: University of Chicago, Department of Psychology, Chicago, IL 60637, USA. beilock@uchicago.edu s-levine@uchicago.edu.
authors.forename: Susan C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Levine
authors.affiliation: University of Chicago, Department of Psychology, Chicago, IL 60637, USA. beilock@uchicago.edu s-levine@uchicago.edu.
authors.forename: Sian L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Beilock
mesh_terms: D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology; D002648:Child; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016901:Intergenerational Relations; D019359:Knowledge; D008297:Male; D008433:Mathematics / Q000193:education*; D063731:Mobile Applications; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology; D011932:Reading; D012574:Schools; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D013663:Teaching / Q000379:methods