Beginning kindergarteners' perception of number

97 children in 5 kindergarten classes when tested for perceptions of number could begin counting and 9 counted to 30, 84 counted a set of 6 correctly but when the blocks were covered 33 could say there were 6. 57 showed 1:1 correspondence but some had to count to decide. 14 showed conservation of number, but 94 recognized two sets were unequal and which one was larger. 30 pointed to the third car, but 24 could state an ordinal name for a target. Clearly the children varied greatly.