Montessori-educated children outperform those in traditional schools in mathematics with an effect size of 0.22, according to a recent systematic review of 12 baseline-equivalent studies¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · theoretical r2 · q2 · i1 small
Currency · newest study 2026 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i1 A systematic review of 12 high-quality maths studies with baseline-equivalent groups found Montessori-educated children outperformed those in traditional schools with an effect size of 0.22. → Marshall 2026

Evidence¶

Marshall 2026¶

Marshall, C., Livingston, L., & Van Herwegen, J. (2026). Mapping the Montessori Mathematics Curriculum to Dehaene's Four Pillars of Learning. npj Science of Learning. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41539-026-00436-4

q2 · i1 · theoretical · r2

The article reports, citing Randolph et al. (2023), a systematic review synthesising "12 high-quality studies on maths" with baseline-equivalent groups, finding Montessori children outperformed traditional-school peers with "an effect size of 0.22", which the review argued was medium-large in real-world contexts.

"A recent systematic review10 synthesised 12 high-quality studies on maths where the Montessori and control groups had baseline equivalent scores. Montessori-educated children outperformed those in traditional schools with an effect size of 0.22"

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Children admitted by random lottery to high-fidelity Montessori schools performed better or the same as waitlisted controls on academic, executive function, and social measures, never worse — related
• Montessori-schooled children show shorter average shortest path length and lower modularity in their semantic networks than traditionally-schooled children — related
• Montessori students miss fewer trials but make more incorrect responses than traditionally-schooled students at equivalent accuracy — related
• Montessori- and traditionally-enrolled children in this sample were demographically matched on age, gender, fluid intelligence, and SES — related