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A model of the relations among cognitive precursors, early numeracy skill, and mathematical outcomes was tested for 182 children from 4.5 to 7.5 years of age. The model integrates research from neuroimaging, clinical populations, and normal development in children and adults. It includes 3 precursor pathways: quantitative, linguistic, and spatial attention. These pathways (a) contributed independently to early numeracy skills during preschool and kindergarten and (b) related differentially to performance on a variety of mathematical outcomes 2 years later. The success of the model in accounting for performance highlights the need to understand the fundamental underlying skills that contribute to diverse forms of mathematical competence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) may cause a range of physical, mental, behavioral, and learning problems in children whose mothers consumed alcohol during pregnancy. One area of particular weakness for these children is mathematics, with deficits apparent even in studies that control for many potentially confounding variables and IQ. Deficits related to FASD are evident on many different components of mathematics, from standardized achievement measures to specific mathematics tests, and occur among young children, adolescents, and even adults. Children with FASD tend to have more difficulty with mathematics than with other cognitive areas, and mathematics is most highly correlated with the amount of prenatal alcohol exposure. To determine why math is such a significant area of weakness for children with FASD, research must explore how these children perform on different components of mathematics, the brain areas implicated in their mathematics deficits, the cognitive factors that underlie these deficits, and the profile of strengths and weaknesses of these children. Research also is needed on mathematical skills of preschool children with FASD and how math abilities develop in later years. Finally, studies are imperative on the efficacy of interventions designed to improve the math skills of children with FASD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Progress has been made in developing statistical methods for identifying DIF items, but procedures to aid with the substantive interpretations of these items have lagged behind. To overcome this problem, Roussos and Stout (1996) proposed a multidimensionality-based DIF analysis paradigm. We illustrate and evaluate an application of this framework as it applied to the study of gender differences in mathematics. Four characteristics distinguish this study from previous research.’ the substantive analysis was guided by past research on the content and cognitive-related sources of gender differences in mathematics achievement, as presented in the taxonomy by Gallagher, De Lisi, Holst, McGillicuddy-De Lisi, Morely, and Cahalan (2000); the substantive analysis was conducted by reviewers who were highly knowledgeable about the cognitive strategies students use to solve math problems; three statistical methods were used to test hypotheses about gender differences, including SIBTEST, DIMTEST, and multiple linear regression,’ and the data were from a curriculum-based achievement test developed with the goal of minimizing obvious, content-related gender differences. We show that the framework can lead to clearly interpretable results and we highlight both the strengths and weaknesses of applying the Roussos and Stout framework to the study of group differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Age-related change and patterns of individual differences in children's knowledge and skill in multiplication were investigated for students in Grades 4 and 6 (approximately ages 9 and 11, respectively) by examining multiple measures of computational skill, conceptual knowledge, and working memory. Regression analyses revealed that indexes reflecting probability of retrieval and special problem characteristics overshadow other, more general indexes (problem size and frequency of presentation) in predicting solution latencies. Some improvement in the use of conceptual knowledge was evident between Grades 4 and 6, but this change was neither strong nor uniform across tasks. Finally, patterns of individual differences across tasks differed as a function of grade level. The findings have implications for understanding developmental change and individual differences in mathematical cognition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identifies possible developmental changes in functional self-knowledge that can be used in information processing among children. Administration of an unexpected test of free recall; Superiority of recall of words initially accompanied by self-reference over recall of words accompanied by semantic questions at all age-levels; Development of the functional aspect of self-knowledge by middle childhood.

Children of 3 ages (8, 10, and 12 years) and adults were asked to decide rapidly whether 2 line drawings were same or different based on either physical appearance (physical match) or name information (name match). Reaction times were used to estimate several temporal measures of information-processing efficiency, such as the difference between different and same judgments, the difference between name-match and physical-match judgments, and 2 types of interference. Different judgments required more time than same judgments for children but not for adults, and the difference between these decreased with age. As expected, name judgments required more time than physical judgments, but the difference did not decrease regularly with age. Interference in name-match decisions due to conflicting and irrelevant physical information decreased with age; however, interference in physical-match judgments due to conflicting and irrelevant name information does not decline with age and was a significant factor in the performance of older children and adults. The results underscore the complex character of developmental change in processing efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]