Year 1 and Year 2 children's estimations of numerical quantities

The aim of the present study is to examine young children's ability to estimate numerical quantities. To this end, three tasks were designed and presented to a total of 64 first- and second-grade children: (a) estimating the position of a number on an empty number line (Task 1), (b) estimating the numerical value at a specific position on an empty number line (Task 2), and (c) estimating the numerosity of a set (Task 3). Although the success rates between the two age groups did not differ significantly, the use of the number line facilitated more accurate estimations: 75% of the children made successful estimations in Tasks 1 and 2 where the number line was used. Finally, regardless of age group, across all tasks, children found it more difficult to estimate middle-range numbers compared to smaller or larger numbers.