Does the Opportunity–Propensity Framework predict the early mathematics skills of low-income pre-kindergarten children?

• The O–P Framework accounted for differences in the early math skills of low-income, pre-kindergarten children.
• High achievement in early math was a function of three latent constructs: antecedent, opportunity, and propensity.
• Low-income children’s school readiness improved when they had more exposure to typical math learning activities.
• Typical math learning activities included both teacher-initiated basic math and integrated, play-based activities.
• Early childhood educators should consider spending more time on these easy-to-implement math learning activities.

Prior studies have shown that the variables described in the Opportunity–Propensity (O–P) Framework have successfully accounted for the mathematics and science achievement of students in grades 1–3 and 8–12. The two goals of the present study were to (1) determine whether the O–P Framework could also account for individual differences in the early mathematics skills of low-income, pre-kindergarten children and (2) determine whether latent variables constructed from measured variables would account for performance in the manner specified in the O–P model. The O–P Framework assumes that high achievement in mathematics is a function of three categories of factors: (a) antecedent factors, variables that operate early in a child’s life and explain the emergence of opportunities and propensities, (b) opportunity factors, variables that measure a child’s opportunity to learn mathematics content at home and school, and (c) propensity factors, variables that capture a child’s propensity for learning in terms of self-regulation, motivation, and prior cognitive skills. To test the fit of this model for low-income children during the year before they attend kindergarten, the authors conducted a secondary analysis of achievement and background data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth (ECLS-B) Cohort data set. Structural equation modeling indicated significant associations between the antecedent factor, opportunity factor, and propensity factor, and between the opportunity factor and pre-kindergarten mathematics achievement. The results confirmed the fit of the model and identified the kinds of learning experiences that could promote the acquisition of mathematics skills in low-income children and improve their readiness to learn in first grade and beyond.