Cross-task consistency and variability in assessing number word knowledge

The cardinal meanings of the first few number words are often assessed with the Give-N Task, and children’s knowledge of number words can be represented by “knower-level”, with N-knower representing children who have acquired cardinal knowledge of number words up to N. In the current study, we sought converging evidence for knower-levels by examining the correspondence of knower-level classifications between the Give-N Task and the Point-to-X Task. In Study 1, we tested 69 preschool-aged children and found that children at the higher knower-levels often did not receive the same classification across tasks. Further, children who were classified as having acquired the cardinal principle on the Give-N Task were more likely than subset-knowers to count on the Point-to-X Task, but they did not count very frequently. In Study 2, we conducted secondary data analysis on an existing study that included a Point-to-X Task with different stimuli and more trial types. We again found that children’s knower-level assessed with Give-N was not always associated with above chance performance for that number on the Point-To-X Task. These data suggest that knower-levels may adequately capture cardinal number knowledge for very small numbers but not for higher numbers. We discuss the practical implications of these findings and highlight a need for future studies to adopt a multi-method approach to establish a robust pattern of children’s number word acquisition.