Development of early acquired arithmetic skills and development of reading comprehension facilitate the development of later developing arithmetic skills

This longitudinal study tested the notion of a hierarchy of maths skill development by examining whether the development of later acquired arithmetic skills rely on development of earlier acquired arithmetic skills. The scores of 307 children on single-digit arithmetic, multi-digit calculation, arithmetic word problem-solving, and reading comprehension obtained at two measurement points were analysed with latent change score models computed to extract individual development change scores, for further analysis using multiple regression. The results provide clear support of the assumption of a hierarchy of maths development as developmental change in single-digit arithmetic was predictive of developmental change in calculation, and developmental change in arithmetic word problem-solving was supported by developmental change in both single-digit arithmetic and calculation. Developmental change in reading comprehension was also uniquely predictive of two aspects of arithmetic developmental change suggesting that formal mathematics requires support from language processes.