A simple five-minute behavioral test for children entering kindergarten can predict significant gains in mathematics skills over the course of the year, researchers have found.

Claire Cameron Ponitz, a research associate at the University of Virginia, led a group that tested 343 children with the Head-Toes-Knees-Shoulders task, in which children perform the opposite of an oral command (for example, the correct response for “touch your toes” would be to touch your head). Higher scores, the researchers write in the May issue of Developmental Psychology, indicate a greater ability to control and direct one’s own behavior, an ability essential for success in the structured environment of a kindergarten class.

Those with higher scores on the fall test generally reached higher scores in all areas in the spring, but showed significant gains compared with other children only in mathematics, not in literacy or vocabulary.

What’s a parent to do? “We know that consistency and giving children opportunities to control their own behavior helps them develop self-regulation skills,” Dr. Ponitz said. “Playing games like red light, green light, or following through with consequences for violations of family rules  these are things that have been shown to be related to self-regulation in early childhood.”