A child’s future success in maths can be determined by the time a child is four years of age, a new study published by the Centre of Independent Studies (CIS) has found. David Geary, the Curators’ Professor, and Thomas Jefferson, fellow at the University of Missouri, found that the earlier children become “cardinal principle knowers,” the better they perform at school. Cardinal knowledge is the ability to match the concept of a unique quantity to an actual number. For example, the ability to know that the number eight is larger than five without needing to count. “While many children are able to count with ease at pre-school age, not all are successful in translating those numbers to discrete quantities,” Geary said. The analysis paper found that the earlier children are able to demonstrate cardinal knowledge also significantly predicts how quickly they will learn maths in the future. “Around half of …