The relationship between numerical mapping abilities, maths achievement, and socio-economic status in 4- and 5-year-old children

Background: Early numeracy skills are associated with academic and life-long outcomes. Children from low-income backgrounds typically have poorer maths outcomes, and their learning can already be disadvantaged before they begin formal schooling. Understanding the relationship between the skills that support the acquisition of early maths skills could scaffold maths learning and improve life chances. Aims: The present study aimed to examine how the ability of children from different SES backgrounds to map between symbolic (Arabic numerals) and non-symbolic (dot arrays) at two difficulty ratios related to their math performance. Sample: Participants were 398 children in their first year of formal schooling (Mean age = 60 months), and 75% were from low SES backgrounds. Method: The children completed symbolic to non-symbolic and non-symbolic to symbolic mapping tasks at two difficulty ratios (1:2; 2:3) plus standardized maths tasks. Results: The results showed that all the children performed better for symbolic to non-symbolic mapping and when the ratio was 1:2. Mapping task performance was significantly related to maths task achievement, but low-SES children showed significantly lower performance on all tasks. Conclusion: The results suggest that mapping tasks could be a useful way to identify children at risk of low maths attainment.