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First grade might be the most important year for children according to a new study published in PLoS One. The study found that children who understood and learned first grade, fundamental math principles fared better in their overall math abilities down the road. Basic first grade math focuses mainly on teaching numeracy, the system of numbers. By understanding how numbers relate to one another and how numbers can be manipulated and calculated all contribute to learning more difficult math principles later on.

"An early grasp of quantities and numbers appears to be the foundation on which we build more complex understandings of numbers and calculations. Given the national priority on education in science, technology, engineering and math fields, it is crucial for us to understand how children become adept at math and what interventions can help those who struggle to build these skills," said the director of the Mathematics and Science Cognition and Learning: Development and Disorders Program at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), Kathy Mann Koepke, Ph.D. The senior author of the study was David C. Geary, Ph.D., of the University of Missouri, who worked with Mary K. Hoard, Ph.D., and Lara Nugent, and with Drew H. Bailey, Ph.D., of Carnegie Mellon University

The researchers did a long term study in which they analyzed first graders from 12 different elementary schools in Columbia, MO. They looked at specific factors that indicated whether or not the first graders understood the number system. These factors included understanding magnitude (the ability to recognize large and small numbers), number relationships (knowing that the difference between 1 and 2 is the same as 31 and 31 regardless of the extra digit), symbolic quantities (numbers can symbolize objects), and components (what numbers can make up other numbers). The study also measured basic cognitive skills including memory, attention span, and general intelligence.

The researchers did follow up tests on these children when they entered seventh grade and based from the findings, they concluded that children who displayed more understanding of basic principles in first grade were also performing better in seventh grade math classes. These findings discovered that first grade might be one of the most vital academic stages in influencing a child's ability to do math later on.

The study was funded by the NIH institutes.