Attention skills at school entry predict academic achievement more strongly than any academic knowledge — across 35,000 children in six longitudinal datasets.
2
MOE teachers most commonly flag incoming P1 students for inability to follow multi-step instructions and poor frustration management — not reading gaps.
3
Child-directed play in the year before school entry is the strongest predictor of self-regulation at entry — stronger than structured preschool activities.
Research Data
Predictors of P1 Academic Achievement (Relative Effect Size)
Relative effect size for each factor in predicting early primary school achievement. Meta-analysis of 35,000 children across 6 datasets (Duncan et al., Science, 2007).
Attention skills at school entry — not early reading or maths — are the strongest predictor of academic achievement in the first years of formal school, across six longitudinal datasets of 35,000 children (Duncan et al., Science, 2007).