With 20 percent of all U.S. adults lacking the math skills of a middle-school student, a lot of focus is placed on improving students’ abilities today so they can look ahead to brighter tomorrows. Because when an adult lacks basic math skills, many jobs are simply beyond their reach. Functioning in society also becomes challenging, related to calculating a tip in a restaurant, knowing how much change you’re due, and even figuring out changes to recipes.

New research suggests a connection between how a first-grader understands numbers and that student’s ability to do everyday calculations later in life. Essentially, if a first-grader grasps core number skills they’ll build on those skills as they age—versus first-graders who don’t have strong core skills and continue to lag as they grow up. According to researchers, the gap between the two types of students doesn’t close, and students just don’t catch up to their peers who are stronger in math.

Researchers tie the gap to “number system knowledge,” which includes a variety of skills beyond being able to count, like understanding magnitude (43 is larger than 34) and comprehending that numbers represent different quantities (three dots equals the numeral “3” and the word “three”).