The relationship between place value understanding, arithmetic performance and mathematics achievement in general

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the understanding of place value concept, arithmetic performances and mathematics achievement among fourth graders. A total of 250 students from schools in a mid-Anatolian town was participated in the study. A mathematics achievement test, arithmetic performance test and place value test were used as the data collection tools. The independent samples t-test, correlation coefficient and regression analysis were used in the analysis of the data. Results showed that there were no significant differences between the mathematics achievement, arithmetic performances and place value conceptions of boys and girls. A strong relationship appeared between place value conceptions, mathematics achievement and arithmetic performance of the students. An additional regression analysis showed the most important variable predicting the mathematics achievements of these students was the place value conception. 70% of the variance in mathematics achievements was explained by the place value conception scores. When the place value conception and the arithmetic performances of students are combined, they explained 77% of the mathematics achievement. Based on these results, it can be concluded that understanding place value is an important milestone in learning arithmetic and mathematics in general.