Investigation of Working Memory Performances of Children with Low Early Mathematics Achievement

This study examined the working memory performance of children with low early mathematics achievement in comparison with their peers and analyzed the relationships between these skill areas. The distribution of children with low, average and high early mathematics achievement according to their working memory levels was also examined. The participants consisted of 100 kindergarten children with typical development and average and above-average intelligence. The Colored Progressive Matrices Test (CPM) was used to determine nonverbal intelligence levels, the Test of Early Mathematics Ability, Third Edition (TEMA-3) to evaluate early math skills and the Working Memory Scale (WMS) to determine working memory performances of the children. Children were divided into three groups of low, average and high achievement according to their early mathematics achievement assessed by the TEMA-3. It was found that the working memory performances of children with low, average and high achievement in early mathematics differed significantly. The working memory performance of children with low early mathematics achievement was significantly lower than their peers with average and high achievement. The results of the relationships between early math skills and working memory showed that early math skills and working memory components, except for visual short-term memory, were correlated to a small and medium degree. The distributions of working memory levels of the groups were examined and the results showed that children with low early mathematics achievement had low and average working memory performance, while children with high early mathematics achievement mostly had average and high working memory performance. However, none of the children with low early mathematics achievement showed high working memory performance. The results are discussed within the framework of the literature.