An exploratory pilot study of mathematics performance patterns: visual art students vs. non-art students

This is an exploratory pilot study designed to identify preliminary patterns in mathematics performance. A longitudinal comparative design was adopted, analyzing mathematics scores of 37 art students and 40 non-art students from a Chinese university across four consecutive semesters. Descriptive statistics characterized overall performance, independent samples <i>t</i>-tests (with Bonferroni correction) assessed between-group differences per semester, Pearson correlation coefficients examined intra-individual score consistency, ANCOVA (with gender as a covariate) and subgroup analyses explored gender effects, and trend analysis tracked longitudinal changes. <i>Post-hoc</i> power analysis confirmed sufficient power (0.809-0.899) to detect moderate effects. Non-art students demonstrated consistently higher numerical mathematics scores than art students across all semesters (75.6-78.9 vs. 70.2-73.5). After Bonferroni correction (α = 0.0125), <i>t</i>-tests confirmed statistically significant differences only in Semester 3 (<i>t</i> = -2.43, <i>p</i> = 0.017). Mann-Whitney <i>U</i>-tests were applied to validate <i>t</i>-test results for Semester 2 (mixed normality) and Semester 3 (non-normal data), confirming the Semester 3 significance (<i>U</i> = 393.5, <i>p</i> = 0.000) and consistency of non-significant findings in Semester 2. Gender subgroup analyses revealed the gap was driven exclusively by female students (non-art: <i>M</i> = 81.12 vs. art: <i>M</i> = 74.56, <i>p</i> = 0.006), while males showed no differences (<i>p</i> = 0.963). Correlation analysis revealed stronger score stability among non-art students (<i>r</i> = 0.62-0.78) compared to art students (<i>r</i> = 0.51-0.65). Both groups showed a gradual upward trend (art: +3.3 points; non-art: +3.3 points), but the numerical performance gap remained stable (5.2-5.4 points). Preliminary patterns of persistent mathematics performance differences highlight the need for targeted support to balance artistic and academic development for art majors.