Fractions are the key to math success, new study shows

ANN ARBOR, Mich.-What part of math success comes from knowing fractions? More than you might think, according to a new study that analyzed long-term data on more than 4,000 children from both the United States and the United Kingdom. Published in the current issue of the peer-reviewed journal Psychological Science, the study found that understanding fractions and division at age 10 predicted algebra and overall math achievement in high school, even after statistically controlling for a wide range of factors including parents' education and income, and children's age, gender, I.Q., reading comprehension, working memory, and knowledge of whole number addition, subtraction and multiplication. "These findings demonstrate an immediate need to improve the teaching and learning of fractions and division," said University of Michigan researcher Pamela Davis-Kean, a co-author of the study and director of the Center for the Analysis of Pathways from Childhood to Adulthood at the U-M Institute for Social Research. "We suspected that early knowledge in these areas was absolutely crucial to later learning of more advanced mathematics, but did not have any evidence until now," said Robert Siegler, a cognitive psychologist at Carnegie Mellon University and the lead author of the study. "The clear message is that we need to improve instruction in long division and fractions, which will require helping teachers to gain a deeper understanding of the concepts that underlie these mathematical operations.