Early Numeracy Research Articles

The relative effect of student, family and school-related factors on math achievement by location of the school

This study aims to examine the relative effects of student, family and school-related characteristics on 4th grade students’ math achievement according to location of the school in Turkey. The data of 6435 students studying at 260 primary schools were analyzed using TIMSS-2015 database. The dependent variable of the study was students’ math scores and 19 factors constituting the student, family and school-related characteristics were the independent variables. The location of the school was classified as urban, suburban, medium-size city and village. The data was analyzed via single level multiple linear regression. The results revealed that the entire models explained the largest amount of variance (52%) in the schools located in the villages and the least amount of variance (44%) in those located in the urban area. Although all of the student, family and school-related characteristic sets were found to be significantly related with the achievement, the student-related characteristics explained the largest amount of variance in achievement. Students’ confidence in math contributed almost the highest amount of variance, and the early numeracy tasks, absenteeism in school, parents’ highest education level, parents’ highest occupation level, early numeric activities before school explained small amounts of variance in students’ math achievement in the schools of all locations.

The Effects of a SFON-Based Early Numeracy Program on Multilingual Children's Early Numeracy and Oral Language Skills

In this quasi-experimental study we examined how the Count How Many (CHM) intervention program can support multilingual children's early numeracy and oral language skills. The program is aimed at promoting spontaneous focusing on numerosity (SFON) and early numeracy skills in 3- to 5-year-old children who attend day care. We examined the effects of the CHM intervention with existing, but unanalyzed data, of16 multilingual children who participated in the intervention, which consists of 6 weeks of intensive training followed by a 5-month rehearsal phase. We matched two monolingual participants with each multilingual participant by age, SFON, and cardinality-related skills for each multilingual child. One of the matched children participated in the CHM intervention, while the other took part in an early literacy program, Let's Read and Talk. Children's early numeracy and oral language skills were measured at pretest, posttest, and delayed posttest. Multilingual children's SFON tendency, cardinality skills, number sequence production abilities, and story comprehension skills developed at a similar rate as monolingual participants during the follow-up period. The results suggest that it is possible to enhance SFON tendency and cardinality-related skills in multilingual children before school age. Furthermore, the time spent supporting early numeracy skills does not take away from language learning. However, more research is needed in larger populations to determine the applicability to broader segments of national and global societies.

Relations between Subdomains of Home Math Activities and Corresponding Math Skills in 4-Year-Old Children

Most studies on the subject have investigated relations between home math activities and child math skills, without paying much attention to the specific skills that such activities foster and their alignment with children’s math assessments. The present study examined specific relations between subdomains of home math activities and children’s corresponding math skills (e.g., home counting/cardinality activities related to children’s counting/cardinality skills). Participants were 78 mostly middle-income, White parents and their four-year-old children (M age = 53.19 months; 45% girls). Parents completed a 24-item survey about the frequency of home activities supporting five subdomains of math: counting/cardinality, set comparison, number identification, adding/subtracting, and patterning. Children’s skills in these same five subdomains were assessed using the Preschool Early Numeracy Scale (PENS) and the Early Patterning Assessment. Specific relations were observed in set comparison, adding/subtracting, and patterning, such that higher frequency of home activities in these subdomains related to advanced child math skills in the corresponding subdomains. No specific relations were found in counting/cardinality and number identification. Overall home math activities averaged across the five math subdomains positively related to children’s overall math skills. Findings highlight the importance of engagement in specific math activities in the home environment and their significance for corresponding child math development.

Links between early literacy and early numeracy during preschool education in France

ABSTRACT Children develop early literacy and numeracy skills from an early age. The primary aim of the current study is to examen links between early literacy skills and early numeracy skills during preschool education in France. This study involves 313 kindergarten students (152 girls and 161 boys), aged between 3.44 and 7.02 years (mean age = 5.07 years, standard deviation = 0.88). Regression analyses accounting for children’s characteristics and early literacy skills revealed that letter knowledge was a significant predictor of numeral identification and verbal counting in the three years of French école maternelle. Children’s characteristics (age and socioeconomic status) have an impact on early numeracy skills but only for the youngest students in school (petite section). These findings suggest that young children’s early numeracy skills are related to the acquisition of early literacy skills and to children’s characteristics. Implications for future research are discussed.

Exploring the Implementation of Early Math Assessments in Kindergarten Classrooms: A Research‐Practice Collaboration

ABSTRACTResearch in cognitive development has highlighted that early numeracy skills are associated with later math achievement, suggesting that these skills should be targeted in early math education. Here we tested whether tools used by researchers to assess mathematical thinking could be useful in the classroom. This paper describes a collaborative project between cognitive scientists and school board researchers/educators implementing numeracy screeners with kindergarten students over the course of three school years. The Give‐N task (Wynn, 1990) was used with first‐year kindergarten students and the Numeracy Screener (Nosworthy, Bugden, Archibald, Evans, & Ansari, 2013) with second‐year kindergarten students. Results indicated that educators (N = 59) found the tools feasible to implement and helpful for exploring their students' thinking and targeting instruction. The educators' feedback also helped inform improvements to the implementation of the tools and future directions for both the schools and the researchers. This work emphasizes the importance of transdisciplinary collaboration to address the research‐practice gap.

Cross-domain associations between mathematical and narrative abilities in preschool-aged children

Both mathematical and narrative abilities are considered critical dimensions of children’s kindergarten readiness skills and are emphasized in developmental standards and readiness assessments during the prekindergarten period. Yet, despite considerable opportunities available to educators to leverage potential cross-domain associations in their instruction, little is known about how component math skills are associated with narrative skills. The current study extends prior theoretical and empirical work on cross-domain associations by examining the extent to which component math skills, constituting a kindergarten readiness assessment battery, are associated with narrative comprehension skills in children aged 4–6 years. Two geographically distinct samples of children enrolled in a summer kindergarten readiness program in the United States (N = 108) were used to explore how early numeracy skills (e.g., counting, cardinality), math language, and patterning skills individually and together contributed to variance in narrative comprehension skills. Zero-order correlations indicated that math and narrative skills were significantly and moderately correlated, with cardinality and math language skills showing the strongest associations, followed by patterning and counting skills. Furthermore, results from a multiple regression analysis indicated that cardinality and math language each explained a significant and substantial proportion of variance in narrative comprehension skills when controlling for the other math skills. Implications for theoretical models of cross-domain development of children’s cognitive skills are discussed.

Factor structure of early numeracy: evaluation of a measurement model in greek-speaking children with intellectual disabilities

Exploring the individual differences of the longitudinal growth of early numeracy (EN) in young children with Intellectual disabilities (IDs) prerequires the critical stage of exploring and validating the potential factor structure. Despite the fact that Relational Skills (RS), Counting Skills (CS) and Operations (O) are expected to constitute distinct domains of EN, there is not sufficient evidence to support either the above position or the position that they are different means of assessing a general-informal numeracy skill construct. This study was designed to shed light in the field through the evaluation of a measurement model describing the structure of RS, CS and O domains of EN and their interrelation. The sample included N = 155 children with IDs, enrolled in special school classes, mentally aged between 5;02 (y;m) and 6;10 (M = 5.11, SD = 0.974). Confirmatory Factor Analysis indicated a “good fit” of the two-factor model (RS, CS + O) of EN in ID (RMSEA=.029 < 0.08, CFI = 0.98 ≥ 0.90 and SRMR = 0.000 < 0.08). No measurement invariance across gender was reported for the proposed two-factor model of EN. The nested EN models validated full measurement invariance across gender. Finally, educational implications are discussed.

Investigating the Dimensionality of Early Numeracy Using the Bifactor Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling Framework.

The few studies that have analyzed the factorial structure of early number skills have mainly used confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and have yielded inconsistent results, since early numeracy is considered to be unidimensional, multidimensional or even underpinned by a general factor. Recently, the bifactor exploratory structural equation modeling (bifactor-ESEM)—which has been proposed as a way to overcome the shortcomings of both the CFA and the exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM)—proved to be valuable to account for the multidimensionality and the hierarchical nature of several psychological constructs. The present study is the first to investigate the dimensionality of early number skills measurement through the application of the bifactor-ESEM framework. Using data from 644 prekindergarten and kindergarten children (4 to 6 years old), several competing models were contrasted: the one-factor CFA model; the independent cluster model (ICM-CFA); the exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM); and their bifactor counterpart (bifactor-CFA and bifactor-ESEM, respectively). Results indicated acceptable fit indexes for the one-factor CFA and the ICM-CFA models and excellent fit for the others. Among these, the bifactor-ESEM with one general factor and three specific factors (Counting, Relations, Arithmetic) not only showed the best model fit, but also the best coherent factor loadings structure and full measurement invariance across gender. The bifactor-ESEM appears relevant to help disentangle and account for general and specific factors of early numerical ability. While early numerical ability appears to be mainly underpinned by a general factor whose exact nature still has to be determined, this study highlights that specific latent dimensions with substantive value also exist. Identifying these specific facets is important in order to increase quality of early numerical ability measurement, predictive validity, and for practical implications.

A systematic review of mathematics interventions for primary school students with intellectual disabilities

ABSTRACT This systematic review investigates the characteristics of effective mathematics interventions for students with intellectual disabilities (ID) age 5 to 12, focusing on early numeracy, arithmetic, and arithmetical problem solving skills. Twenty studies from 2008–2020 were reviewed: 17 had a single-subject design and three a group-comparison design. The studies included a total of 135 students with ID. Consistent with previous studies, the analysis showed that interventions with systematic and explicit instruction with feedback and the use of manipulatives are effective instructional approaches and strategies for students with ID. This study reveals that effective interventions are well-structured, high intensity learning sequences adapted to the students’ achievement level. The intensity of an intervention requires careful consideration of the number of intervention sessions per week and their duration. Further studies should investigate which instructional strategy is most effective for each type of skill and the optimum intensity of interventions.

Investigating the associations of early numeracy activities and skills with mathematics dispositions, engagement, and achievement among fourth graders in the United Arab Emirates

The present study aimed to examine the relations of early numeracy activities and skills to mathematics dispositions, engagement, and achievement among 26,859 fourth graders in the United Arab Emirates who took part in the sixth cycle of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) in 2015. The study also explored the mediating effects of mathematics dispositions and engagement on the relations between early numeracy activities and skills and mathematics achievement among these fourth graders. Results of path analyses, after controlling for participants’ demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, indicated that early numeracy activities and skills were significantly and positively related to mathematics dispositions, engagement, and achievement. Further, results of mediational analyses suggested that confidence in mathematics had a significant mediating effect on the relations between early numeracy activities and skills and mathematics achievement. The findings of the study highlight the crucial role that early numeracy activities and skills play in enhancing fourth graders’ mathematics dispositions, engagement, and achievement in the United Arab Emirates.

Early Numeracy Assessment In French preschool: structural analysis and links with children’s characteristics

ABSTRACT The development of early numeracy skills in preschoolers is an important predictor of future academic performance. A multiplicity of tasks or tests measure early numeracy skills in the English-language. Nevertheless, no tools are currently in French for evaluating and monitoring the development of young children’s early numeracy skills. The present study addressed this situation by creating a set of early numeracy tasks in French. In addition to examining the psychometric properties of those early numeracy tasks, we used multiple regression analyses to examine possible links between early numeracy skills and children’s characteristics (sex, age, socioeconomic status). Results obtained on a sample of 167 French kindergarten students (Mean = 5.17 years, Standard Deviation = 0.59) showed the tests to have good psychometric properties. Moreover, model fit for our data were better for a single-factor model than for a two-factor model. In addition, we found links between different dimensions of early numeracy and both children’s age and socioeconomic status.

Exact arithmetic, computational estimation and approximate arithmetic are different skills: Evidence from a study with 5‐year‐olds

AbstractResearch distinguishes three types of arithmetic: exact arithmetic, computational estimation and approximate arithmetic. Little is, however, known about the interrelationship among these three arithmetic skills and the general cognitive and early numeracy skills that underlie these arithmetic skills. The current study investigates this interrelationship and underlying processes in 389 kindergartners. Exact arithmetic and computational estimation skills were assessed using a manipulative task, while approximate arithmetic was measured using a computerized task. Correlational analysis showed significant relations among the three arithmetic skills. At the same time, confirmatory factor analyses showed that they are different constructs. In addition, regression analysis showed that different general cognitive and early numeracy skills are predictive of the three arithmetic skills. Since the different arithmetic skills are related but distinct constructs and because they are driven by different processes, teaching and learning each of these skills ask for a different approach.

Home activities and cognitive skills in relation to early literacy and numeracy: testing a multifactorial model in preschoolers

The aim of the present study was to test environmental and cognitive variables as possible cross-domain predictors of early literacy and numeracy skills. One hundred forty-eight preschool children (mean age = 64.36 months ± 3.33) were enrolled in the study. The battery included a home literacy and home numeracy questionnaire, measures and phonological and visuo-spatial working memory, tasks tapping response inhibition, and predictors of literacy (vocabulary, phonological awareness, letter knowledge) and numeracy (magnitude comparison, number knowledge) skills. The structural equation model indicated that verbal working memory and, to a lesser extent, inhibition represented cross-domain predictors, whereas home numeracy activities and visuo-spatial working memory explained additional variance only for early numeracy skills. Implications for parents and educators are discussed.

How do phonological awareness, rapid automatized naming, and vocabulary contribute to early numeracy and print knowledge of Filipino children?

The current study investigated the contributions of phonological awareness, rapid automatized naming (RAN), and vocabulary to early numeracy and print knowledge developmental trajectories. A total of 128 young Filipino children were tracked three times at mean ages of 4.5, 5.0, and 5.5 years. The initial level (the intercept) and the growth rate (the slope) of early numeracy and print knowledge were estimated. Results showed that phonological awareness, vocabulary, and age significantly predicted the initial level of early numeracy. RAN and vocabulary explained significant variance in the growth rate of early numeracy. Phonological awareness, RAN, and vocabulary accounted for unique variance in the initial level of print knowledge. Results highlight the differential roles of phonological awareness, RAN, and vocabulary knowledge in the development of early numeracy and print knowledge among Filipino children.

Can an early mathematical intervention boost the progress of children in kindergarten? A field experiment

Socioeconomic status (SES) has been shown to be associated with children’s arithmetic knowledge as early as kindergarten, which is an important issue, given that early numeracy knowledge and skills usually correlate to later academic achievement in arithmetic. In line with recent research, it is argued that the regular practice of exercises involving cardinality, ordinality and arithmetic transformations during class time could accelerate the progress of children, particularly among low-SES children. Participants were 118 kindergarteners (Mage = 3.87). Teachers were randomly assigned to the intervention group (immediate implementation of the intervention; N = 64) or the control group (intervention delayed, N = 54). This intervention consisted of playful exercises involving quantities and numerical transformations. The results indicated that the intervention tended to accelerate progress on the verbal numerical sequence, particularly among lower-SES children. In addition, the intervention tended to accelerate progress on cardinality and arithmetic. These results provide preliminary evidence of the effectiveness of the intervention to help children acquire basic mathematical skills.

Evaluating the Factor Structure and Criterion Validity of the Canadian Little DCDQ: Associations Between Motor Competence, Executive Functions, Early Numeracy Skills, and ADHD in Early Childhood.

The Canadian Little Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire (Little DCDQ-CA) is a parent-report screening instrument that identifies 3- to 4-year-old children who may be at risk for Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD). We tested the factor structure and criterion validity of the Little DCDQ-CA in a sample of preschool-aged children in the United States (N = 233). Factor analysis indicated that the DCDQ-CA was best represented by one factor. Using cutoff scores that were proposed by the developer, 45% of the sample was identified as at-risk for DCD. Although a much larger percentage of children was identified as at-risk than would be expected based on the prevalence of formal DCD diagnoses in the population, the Little DCDQ-CA demonstrated good criterion validity. Specifically, compared with their peers, children who exceeded the at-risk criterion demonstrated worse motor competence, executive functioning skills, and early numeracy skills and were rated as having greater ADHD behaviors by their teachers, all consistent with expectations for children who are at risk for DCD. Results are discussed as they relate to future use of the Little DCDQ-CA.

Self-regulation as promotive for academic achievement in young children across risk contexts

The link between self-regulation and academic achievement in young children is well-documented. However, few studies have examined the extent to which different aspects of self-regulation are more important for early numeracy and literacy for those in contexts of high cumulative risk, such as children experiencing homelessness. In the current study, 116 children ages 4;0–7;1 years (58 residing in an emergency homeless shelter and 58 from a community participant pool) completed assessments of math and reading, as well as multiple measures of self-regulation: executive function (EF), emotion regulation (ER), and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA). Parents completed a questionnaire about their children’s behavioral regulation. We examined whether sample (i.e., shelter or community) moderated the association between each aspect of self-regulation and academic outcomes. Results showed a main effect of EF skills on early numeracy, and this relation did not differ across samples. Intervention efforts to promote academic competencies might specifically target EF in those who struggle with early EF skills regardless of risk context.

A meta-analytic synthesis of early numeracy interventions for low-performing young children

A meta-analytic synthesis of early numeracy interventions for low-performing young children

Home Learning Environments of Children in Mexico in Relation to Socioeconomic Status.

We explored the home learning environments of 173 Mexican preschool children (aged 3–6 years) in relation to their numeracy performance. Parents indicated the frequency of their formal home numeracy and literacy activities, and their academic expectations for children’s numeracy and literacy performance. Children completed measures of early numeracy skills. Mexican parent–child dyads from families with either high- or low-socioeconomic status (SES) participated. Low-SES parents (n = 99) reported higher numeracy expectations than high-SES parents (n = 74), but similar frequency of home numeracy activities. In contrast, high-SES parents reported higher frequency of literacy activities. Path analyses showed that operational (i.e., advanced) numeracy activities were positively related to children’s numeracy skills in the high- but not in the low-SES group. These findings improve the understanding of the role of the home environment in different contexts and provide some insights into the sources of the variable patterns of relations between home learning activities and children’s numeracy outcomes. They also suggest that SES is a critical factor to consider in research on children’s home numeracy experiences.

Shared Book Reading Effects on Number Naming in Preschoolers at Risk for Numeracy Delays

Number naming, or knowledge of math numerals, has been described as a gatekeeper skill in preschool math development because it is necessary for later math tasks such as calculation. This article describes a small group intervention piloted with 10 preschoolers found to be at risk for delays in early numeracy development during universal screening. Target numerals were assigned randomly to one of three conditions (book, activity, and control). Using an adapted alternating treatment design, intervention conditions were delivered to small groups in 15-min sessions three times per week for 8 weeks. Each intervention session included a manualized counting book and activity, which were delivered in random order each session, but included the same numerals for number identification, verbal counting during one-to-one correspondence, and number naming. Across the 8 weeks of intervention, some preschoolers exhibited growth in number naming in intervention conditions as compared to control; participants varied in whether the book or activity intervention condition was more effective for their learning.