title: A longitudinal analysis of estimation, counting skills, and mathematical ability across the first school year.
abstract: In response to claims that the quality (and in particular linearity) of children's mental representation of number acts as a constraint on number development, we carried out a longitudinal assessment of the relationships between number line estimation, counting, and mathematical abilities. Ninety-nine 5-year-olds were tested on 4 occasions at 3 monthly intervals. Correlations between the 3 types of ability were evident, but while the quality of children's estimations changed over time and performance on the mathematical tasks improved over the same period, changes in one were not associated with changes in the other. In contrast to the earlier claims that the linearity of number representation is potentially a unique contributor to children's mathematical development, the data suggest that this variable is not significantly privileged in its impact over and above simple procedural number skills. We propose that both early arithmetic success and estimating skill are bound closely to developments in counting ability.
authors.affiliation: School of Life Sciences, Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh, Scotland, EH14 4AS. k.muldoon@hw.ac.uk
authors.forename: Kevin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Muldoon
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Towse
authors.forename: Victoria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Simms
authors.forename: Oliver
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Perra
authors.forename: Victoria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Menzies
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001244:Association; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development / Q000502:physiology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007600:Judgment / Q000502:physiology*; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008433:Mathematics; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011340:Problem Solving / Q000502:physiology*; D011930:Reaction Time