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Associations of Number Line Estimation With Mathematical Competence: A Meta‐analysis
Author(s) -
Schneider Michael,
Merz Simon,
Stricker Johannes,
De Smedt Bert,
Torbeyns Joke,
Verschaffel Lieven,
Luwel Koen
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
child development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.103
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1467-8624
pISSN - 0009-3920
DOI - 10.1111/cdev.13068
Subject(s) - number line , competence (human resources) , correlation , psychology , meta analysis , statistics , estimation , mathematics education , mathematics , social psychology , management , economics , medicine , geometry
The number line estimation task is widely used to investigate mathematical learning and development. The present meta‐analysis statistically synthesized the extensive evidence on the correlation between number line estimation and broader mathematical competence. Averaged over 263 effect sizes with 10,576 participants with sample mean ages from 4 to 14 years, this correlation was r = .443. The correlation increased with age, mainly because it was higher for fractions than for whole numbers. The correlation remained stable across a wide range of task variants and mathematical competence measures (i.e., counting, arithmetic, school achievement). These findings demonstrate that the task is a robust tool for diagnosing and predicting broader mathematical competence and should be further investigated in developmental and experimental training studies.