Domain-general mediators of the relation between kindergarten number sense and first-grade mathematics achievement

• Participants were kindergartners with low initial number sense.
• Tested how domain-general skills mediate between kindergarten and first-grade math.
• Kindergarten EF and attention problems predicted first-grade math.
• EF and attention problems mediated between kindergarten and first-grade math.
• Findings support instruction targeting EF, attention problems, and number skills.

Domain-general skills that mediate the relation between kindergarten number sense and first-grade mathematics skills were investigated. Participants were 107 children who displayed low number sense in the fall of kindergarten. Controlling for background variables, multiple regression analyses showed that both attention problems and executive functioning were unique predictors of mathematics outcomes. Attention problems were more important for predicting first-grade calculation performance, whereas executive functioning was more important for predicting first-grade performance on applied problems. Moreover, both executive functioning and attention problems were unique partial mediators of the relationship between kindergarten and first-grade mathematics skills. The results provide empirical support for developing interventions that target executive functioning and attention problems in addition to instruction in number skills for kindergartners with initial low number sense.