Even before formal instruction, Chinese children outperform American children in mental addition

At the start of kindergarten, groups of Chinese and American children were administered a test of addition skills, a numerical memory span measure, and an addition strategy assessment. The Chinese children used a more mature mix of strategies to solve the addition problems, which contributed to thei...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Cognitive development 1993-10, Vol.8 (4), p.517-529
Main Authors: Geary, David C., Bow-Thomas, C. Christine, Fan, Liu, Siegler, Robert S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Addition
China
Comparative Analysis
Cross Cultural Studies
Cultural Differences
Finger Counting
Kindergarten Children
Mathematical Aptitude
Mathematics Achievement
Mathematics Skills
Memory
Primary Education
United States
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Summary:At the start of kindergarten, groups of Chinese and American children were administered a test of addition skills, a numerical memory span measure, and an addition strategy assessment. The Chinese children used a more mature mix of strategies to solve the addition problems, which contributed to their 3 3n1 advantage over the American children in number correct on the paper-and-pencil addition test. When the Chinese children could not retrieve an addition fact directly from memory, they tended to count verbally, whereas the American children tended to count on their fingers or guess. The national difference in the relative use of verbal and finger counting as problem-solving strategies, in turn, appeared to be related to a Chinese advantage in memory span for numbers. Implications for understanding national differences in mathematics learning and ability are discussed.
ISSN:0885-2014
1879-226X
DOI:10.1016/S0885-2014(05)80007-3