Montessori Outcome Studies
Montessori education helps the child develop a love of order, a love of work, a spontaneous concentration, independence and initiative, a spontaneous self-discipline and a sympathy for others that lasts a lifetime. A U.S. study found that years after graduating from a Montessori program, children still performed significantly better than peers from a traditional education background:
"more than half of the Montessori sample [went on to attend] the four most highly rated and selective high schools in the [local school] system."
"attending a Montessori program from the approximate ages of three to eleven predicts significantly higher mathematics and science standardized test scores in high school."
Another study published in the journal Science (Vol. 313, Sept. 29, 2006) found that Montessori children were also significantly more likely to behave positively - not only at play, but also in conflict resolution:
"Montessori children were significantly more likely to be involved in positive shared peer play and significantly less likely to be involved in rough play that was ambiguous in intent (such as wrestling without smiling)."
"Montessori children were significantly more likely (43% versus 18% of responses) to use a higher level of reasoning by referring to justice or fairness..."
(For more on these and other research studies on Montessori education, check out the Research section at AMI.)
