The Association of Inattention and Children's Math Development: A Longitudinal Study

This study examined the association of inattention and children's math development as children progress from elementary into middle school. Of particular interest was whether children who are consistently rated by their teachers as frequently inattentive exhibit different patterns of growth in math fact retrieval, calculation, and conceptual knowledge of place value than children who are seldom inattentive. Math tests were administered to children in third through sixth grades, and behavior rating scales to assess inattention were completed by their teachers in second through fifth grades. Growth in math skills was analyzed using both zero-order and partial correlations and latent growth curve modeling. Results indicated that children's inattention in second grade was related to lower levels of fact retrieval and calculation performance in third grade. However, with one exception, inattention was not found to be associated with year-to-year growth or overall growth in any of the three math skills evaluated. The study also investigated third grade predictors of sixth grade calculation skill. Findings indicated that children's third grade inattention was as predictive of their sixth grade calculation scores as were the third grade measures of fact retrieval, calculation skill, and conceptual knowledge of place value. In analyses conducted to screen specifically for later math calculation difficulties, fact retrieval emerged as a ""good"" screening test for the sample of children evaluated. This information has the potential for aiding the development of appropriate intervention techniques