Assessing the Development of Mathematical Concepts in Preschool Children: Checklists for Teachers

This article focuses on three fundamental mathematical concepts for young children and provides checklists as a means of tracing the development of the three concepts: matching and one-on-one correspondence, sets and classification and order and seriation. The checklists provide a developmental sequence in which these three concepts are likely to emerge that can be used to guide curriculum. As a tool for assessment, the checklists can be used to chart and monitor student performance. By studying young children’s sequential development as reflected in these checklists, teachers can plan developmentally appropriate experiences for them. Thus, decision making with regard to necessary resources, classroom setup and questions to be asked for the development of each child can be facilitated