Early Elementary Science Instruction - Does More Time on Science or Science Topics/Skills Predict Science Achievement in the Early Grades

Oct 15, 2026

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Study evaluates whether additional instructional time on science, or a wider breadth of science topics/skills, improves science achievement in early elementary grades. Using Early Childhood Longitudinal Study data, it estimates effects with regression models and school fixed effects plus student fixed effects. Results show suggestive evidence that time on science instruction relates to achievement in some models, while evidence for topic/skill breadth is limited. Findings are broadly consistent across student subgroups and inform early science policy and practice.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages18

Reading Time45 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Purpose of the study

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Keywords

AERA Open July-September 2019, Vol. 5, No. 3, pp. 1–18 DOI: 10. 1177/2332858419861081 Article reuse guidelines: [sagepub.com/journals-permissions](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)[ ](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)© The Author(s) 2019. [http://journals.sagepub.com/home/ero](http://journals.sagepub.com/home/ero) Early Elementary Science Instruction: Does More Time on Science or Science Topics/Skills Predict Science Achievement in the Early Grades? F. Chris Curran James Kitchin University of Maryland, Baltimore County Recent evidence points to the early elementary grades as a pivotal point for the development of science learning trajectories and achievement gaps. Using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, this study estimates the degree to which time spent on science and the breadth of science topics/skills covered predict science achievement in the earliest grades of elementary school. Using regression along with school fixed effects and student fixed effects models, we find suggestive evidence in some models (student fixed effects and regression with observable controls) that time on science instruction is related to science achievement but little evidence that the number of science topics/skills covered are related to greater science achievement. These results are generally consistent across student subgroups. We discuss the implications for early science policy and practice. Keywords: early childhood, educational policy, longitudinal studies, policy, regression analyses, science education Introduction Improving student performance in science remains a commonly cited policy goal for political leaders, educators, and other societal stakeholders (U.S. Department of Education, n.d.) . Recent evidence points to the importance of focusing on the elementary years as a foundation for later science achievement. In particular, research suggests that the earliest years of elementary school (kindergarten and first grade) are critical for the development of science knowledge and skills as well as a point of divergence in performance between subgroups of students. For instance, prior work showed that performance on a first-grade general knowledge exam, which included science content, was more predictive of science achievement through eighth grade than measures of achievement in other subjects or student background characteristics (Morgan, Farkas, Hillemeier, & Maczuga, 2016) . Other work documents the existence of science achievement gaps by race/ ethnicity as early as kindergarten and persisting through elementary school (Curran & Kellogg, 2016; Kohlhaas, Lin, & Chu, 2010; Quinn & Cooc, 2015) . Recent work suggests that much of these differences for Hispanic and Asian students can be explained by the language and immigration contexts of the students (Curran & Kitchin, 2018). In addition to race/ethnicity, early disparities in science by income are apparent in kindergarten, and differences by gender emerge by first grade (Curran, 2017; Curran & Kellogg, 2016) . While numerous studies have explored aspects of science instruction in early elementary school, only a few have done so using large-scale or nationally representative samples (Curran, 2017; Curran & Kellogg, 2016; Morgan et al., 2016; Quinn & Cooc, 2015; Saçkes, Trundle, & Bell, 2013; Saçkes, Trundle, Bell, O’Connell, 2011) . While such recent work has begun to shed light on the trajectories and disparities of early science learning with nationally representative data (Curran, 2017; Curran & Kellogg, 2016; Morgan et al., 2016; Quinn & Cooc, 2015; Saçkes et al., 2011; Saçkeset al., 2013), few nationally representative studies have explored the mechanisms and potential policy and instructional levers that might be leveraged to improve early elementary science achievement. One potential mechanism for improving early elementary science outcomes is an emphasis on the prevalence and content of science instruction. The theoretical framework of oppor

FAQs

What does the study examine about early science instruction?

It examines whether time spent on science instruction and the breadth of science topics/skills covered predict science achievement in the earliest elementary grades.

What data and methods does the study use?

It uses Early Childhood Longitudinal Study data and estimates relationships using regression with school fixed effects and student fixed effects models.

What do the results indicate about time on science versus topic/skill breadth?

The study finds suggestive evidence in some models that time on science instruction is related to science achievement, with little evidence that the number of topics/skills covered relates to greater achievement.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Cart