Children's Knowledge of Symbolic Number in Grades 1 and 2: Integration of Associations

How do children develop associations among number symbols? For Grade 1 children (n = 66, M = 78 months), sequence knowledge (i.e., identify missing numbers) and number comparison (i.e., choose larger number) predicted addition, both concurrently and indirectly at the end of Grade 1. Number ordering (i.e., touch numbers in order) did not predict addition but was predicted by number comparison, suggesting that magnitude associations underlie ordering performance. In contrast, for Grade 2 children (n = 80, M = 90 months), number ordering predicted addition concurrently and at the end of Grade 2; number ordering was predicted by number comparison, sequencing, and inhibitory processing. Development of symbolic number competence involves the hierarchical integration of sequence, magnitude, order, and arithmetic associations.