ANN ARBOR, Mich.—What part of math success comes from knowing fractions? More than you might think, according to a new study that analyzed long-term data on more than 4,000 children from both the United States and the United Kingdom.

Published in the current issue of the peer-reviewed journal Psychological Science, the study found that understanding fractions and division at age 10 predicted algebra and overall math achievement in high school, even after statistically controlling for a wide range of factors including parents’ education and income, and children’s age, gender, I.Q., reading comprehension, working memory, and knowledge of whole number addition, subtraction and multiplication. (more…)