Long-term relevance and interrelation of symbolic and non-symbolic abilities in mathematical-numerical development: Evidence from large-scale assessment data

• Published in: Cognitive development 2021-04, Vol.58, p.101008, Article 101008
• Main Authors: Braeuning, David, Hornung, Caroline, Hoffmann, Danielle, Lambert, Katharina, Ugen, Sonja, Fischbach, Antoine, Schiltz, Christine, Hübner, Nicolas, Nagengast, Benjamin, Moeller, Korbinian
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Basic numerical competences; Early numeracy; Longitudinal studies; Mathematic achievement; Non-symbolic; Symbolic
• ISSN: 0885-2014; 1879-226X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cogdev.2021.101008

•Research often applied a neurocognitive differentiation of (non-)symbolic abilities.•We propose a differentiation with a strong focus on educational relevance.•Factor analyses substantiated our differentiation in first grade children.•Both abilities were highly related and predictive of math achievement in grade 3.•This study may provide a framework for future research on (non-)symbolic abilities. There is consistent evidence that symbolic abilities predict later mathematical achievement, whereas findings for non-symbolic abilities are more inconsistent. However, in previous research non-symbolic abilities were primarily considered as acuity of the approximate number system. In this study, we conceptualized symbolic and non-symbolic abilities as reflecting the development from operating with and mastery of concrete non-symbolic towards abstract symbolic-digital (Arabic digits) numerical presentation formats across a range of numerical tasks. We considered data from a population-based mathematical assessment (N = 3940) which followed students from grade 1 (Mage = 6;4 years) to grade 3. Confirmatory factor analysis substantiated the differentiation between symbolic and non-symbolic numerical abilities and indicated that both abilities were highly correlated, and each predicted later mathematical achievement significantly. As such, this study corroborated the long-term relevance of both numerical abilities at school-entry. Furthermore, the results extend previous experimental research by an ecologically valid developmental approach.