Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society

Fraction knowledge is not only important for later STEM related education achievement but also crucial for employmentand health. However, many children have great difficulties learning fractions. The present study examined predictorsof fraction knowledge performance in second and fifth grade, including both math-specific skills and general cognitiveabilities. Individual differences in non-symbolic ratio acuity, whole number line estimation, and auditory working memorywere significant predictors of symbolic fraction knowledge performance. Non-symbolic ratio acuity made the largestcontribution to symbolic fraction performance compared to other predictors. The implications of these findings for theoriesof numerical development and for improving mathematics learning are discussed.