Assessment of number concepts in kindergarten and grade one students
Date
2006
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Abstract
In the present study, an assessment instrument was developed and examined to determine its applicability to the assessment of kindergarten and grade one students' understanding of number concepts. Based on an integration of two neo-Piagetian theories, Robbie Case's (1992, 1996) mental number line and Biggs and Collis' (1982a) structure of observed learning outcomes (SOLO) model, the Test of Early Number Concepts (TENC) was developed to provide an assessment of five proficiency levels in a child's acquisition of four aspects of number concepts (i.e., symbols, magnitude comparison, sequence, composition). Both the TENC and a standardized mathematics assessment (WIA T-II mathematics subtests) were administered to kindergarten and grade one students (n = 160; age range 4 years, 11 months to 8 years, 2 months). Descriptive and inferential analysis confirmed the performance pattern achieved on the TENC as consistent with theory-based expectations. Participants performed at each of the five proficiency levels, with grade one students demonstrating significantly higher scores than the kindergarten students. Construct validity of the TENC was obtained through correlational analysis that revealed a moderate to strong relationship between TENC tasks and the WIAT-II (r = .59 to .72). Moreover, multiple regressions identified several TENC tasks as significant predictors of the WIAT-II mathematical subtests, accounting for 48% to 68% of the observed variance. Overall, the results provide preliminary support for the use of the TENC instrument in the assessment of early number concepts. A secondary area of investigation concerned children's recognition of perceptual configurations of number and their counting skills. Children's recognition of perceptual configurations, particularly for familiar patterned sets, was found to both moderately correlate with (r = .30 to .64) and predict (accounting for 24 to 45% of the variance) their mathematics knowledge as assessed using the TENC and WIAT-II. Mann-Whitney tests identified the bi-directional counting tasks as differentiating between children with poorly developed from those with well-developed number concepts. These results support an interplay between children's knowledge of number configurations and their bi-directional counting skills with their understanding of number concepts, although further research is warranted to further examine the extent and direction of influence.
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Bibliography: p. 182-213
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Citation
Drefs, M. A. (2006). Assessment of number concepts in kindergarten and grade one students (Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/1601