The developmental trajectory of children’s strategy use on number order processing tasks [Author Accepted Manuscript]

Children’s order processing performance shows an increasingly strong association with arithmetic fluency across development. One interpretation of this strengthening association is that children display a gradual shift toward greater reliance on memory-retrieval strategies during both order processing and arithmetic tasks. However, direct evidence for such developmental changes in order processing strategies is lacking. To address this, the present study examined trial-by-trial strategy use during a symbolic number order verification task across three age groups: younger children (Grades 2–3; mean age = 8.3 years), older children (Grades 5–6; mean age = 10.7 years), and adults. Use of memory-retrieval strategies was associated with arithmetic fluency. Contrary to expectations, however, reported use of memory-retrieval strategies decreased with age, with younger children reporting retrieval most frequently, followed by older children and then adults. In addition, many children displayed a pattern of strategy inflexibility, reporting the same strategy across all trials. Together, these findings challenge conventional assumptions about developmental changes in order processing and suggest that strategy inflexibility may play an important role in shaping the association between order processing and arithmetic.