Summer Babies Lag In Math Skills, Study Claims

Kids who are born in the summer months are much more likely to encounter difficulty in mathematics when they get to school, a study from the UK contends.

Researchers studied about 47,000 children who were six or seven years old. Those who struggled in math class in school were “35 per cent more likely to have been born between May 1 and August 31” according to London’s Daily Mail.

In England, math skill is apparently referred to as “numeracy.”

The study also found that the summer born are about 13 months behind their classmates in math, but can be brought up to speed with about three or four months of tutoring.

There are apparently other factors with low math ability according to the data compiled by the Every Child a Chance Trust:

“Children who struggle with numbers are also more likely to be boys, much more likely to qualify for free school meals, to have Special Educational Needs, to speak English as a second language and to come from an ethnic minority background.”

The report was produced by the Every Child a Chance Trust, a charitable organization in the UK. According to the organization’s website,

“The … Trust aims to unlock the educational potential of socially disadvantaged children through the development and promotion of evidence-based, early intervention programs … The Trust has shown that, with the right resources, it is possible to overcome the literacy and numeracy difficulties that blight so many children’s lives.”

Do you think this study correlating math skills and season of birth “adds up” particularly since some of the kids would appear to have been born in the spring rather than summer?