THE QUALITATIVE STUDY DESCRIBED in this article examines the knowledge of basic concepts demonstrated by six young deaf children* with high/low levels of mathematical ability as measured by performance on a formal (i.e. Bracken Basic Concept Scale) and informal (i.e. classification/sorting task) assessment. Findings indicate that children with lower mathematics ability, as measured by the Test of Early Mathematics Ability (TEMA-3), also demonstrated limited understanding of basic concepts and weaker thinking skills as evidenced by a lack of ability to categorise or classify at a level comparable to their more mathematically able peers. Such performance suggests that a foundation in basic concept knowledge and thinking skills may be critical to the development of early numeracy skills.
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