Dc. Geary et al., EVEN BEFORE FORMAL INSTRUCTION, CHINESE CHILDREN OUTPERFORM AMERICAN CHILDREN IN MENTAL ADDITION, Cognitive development, 8(4), 1993, pp. 517-529
At the start of kindergarten, groups of Chinese and American children
were administered a test of addition skills, a numerical memory span m
easure, and an addition strategy assessment. The Chinese children used
a more mature mix of strategies to solve the addition problems, which
contributed to their 3:1 advantage over the American children in numb
er correct on the paper-and-pencil addition test. When the Chinese chi
ldren could not retrieve an addition fact directly from memory, they t
ended to count verbally, whereas the American children tended to count
on their fingers or guess. The national difference in the relative us
e of verbal and finger counting as problem-solving strategies, in turn
, appeared to be related to a Chinese advantage in memory span for num
bers. Implications for understanding national differences in mathemati
cs learning and ability are discussed.