title: Development of numerical estimation in young children.
abstract: Two experiments examined kindergartners', first graders', and second graders' numerical estimation, the internal representations that gave rise to the estimates, and the general hypothesis that developmental sequences within a domain tend to repeat themselves in new contexts. Development of estimation in this age range on 0-to-100 number lines followed the pattern observed previously with older children on 0-to-1,000 lines. Between kindergarten and second grade (6 and 8 years), patterns of estimates progressed from consistently logarithmic to a mixture of logarithmic and linear to a primarily linear pattern. Individual differences in number-line estimation correlated strongly with math achievement test scores, improved estimation accuracy proved attributable to increased linearity of estimates, and exposure to relevant experience tended to improve estimation accuracy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA. rs7k@andrew.cmu.edu
authors.forename: Robert S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Siegler
authors.forename: Julie L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Booth
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003071:Cognition; D003210:Concept Formation; D005246:Feedback; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning; D008297:Male; D008433:Mathematics; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors