Developmental Dynamics of Math Performance From Preschool to Grade 2.

TLDR

The study examined how math performance develops from preschool to Grade 2 and identified its cognitive antecedents. The study followed 194 Finnish children six times over three years, assessing math performance and baseline cognitive skills such as counting, visual attention, metacognitive knowledge, and listening comprehension. Math performance was highly stable yet showed increasing variance over time, grew faster for children with high initial skills, and both initial level and growth were best predicted by counting ability.

Abstract

This study investigated the developmental dynamics of mathematical performance during children's transition from preschool to Grade 2 and the cognitive antecedents of this development. 194 Finnish children were examined 6 times according to their math performance, twice during each year across a 3-year period. Cognitive antecedents, that is, counting ability, visual attention, metacognitive knowledge, and listening comprehension, were tested at the first measurement point. The results indicated that math performance showed high stability and increasing variance over time. Moreover, the growth of math competence was faster among those who entered preschool with an already high level of mathematical skills. The initial level of math performance, as well as its growth, was best predicted by counting ability.