evolution

Interesting, and previously a topic of discussion on this site. The results cross “diverse backgrounds”, which is education-speak for racial and economic lines. From the blog of Scientific American:

Prior studies have shown that children as young as infants can judge simple mathematical relationships. When shown bunches of dots on a computer screen, for example, a preschool- or kindergarten-age child can tell that there are more dots combined in an image of 21 dots followed by one of 30 dots compared with a third 34-dot image.

A group including cognitive psychologist Elizabeth Spelke of Harvard University wondered if children could apply that ability, called nonsymbolic arithmetic, to Arabic numerals after learning to count but before they learned to add and subtract.

To find out, they gave several groups of children a laptop-based audiovisual test that asked whether one person had more or fewer candies or other objects than another person. The screen showed numbers to be added, such as 21 and 30, or subtracted, such as 64 and 13, followed by another number, such as 34, with which to compare the added or subtracted value.

The children answered correctly from 64 to 73 percent of the time, according to a report published online today by Nature. More affluent kids tested in the laboratory did better than their less well off peers tested in their classrooms, the group reports. The reason for the difference could be the testing environment, says Spelke, who adds that the important point is that kids from diverse backgrounds all showed the ability. “We never dreamed that you could simply give children the symbols and they will succeed,” she says.

Just imagine what we could teach them once we spent time developing that logic rather than spending it on math + “self-esteem building” exercises or cultural narratives.