The differential developmental trajectory for symbolic and situational mathematics abilities

Symbolic ability and situational ability are two important mathematical skills. Within the realm of mathematical education theory, symbolic ability is often regarded as a more advanced mathematical skill compared to situational ability. However, empirical research to unveil the developmental trajectories of these two abilities is still lacking.This study employed arithmetic calculation tasks to measure students' symbolic ability and word problem composition tasks to measure their situational ability. The developmental trajectories of symbolic and situational abilities were explored among sixth-grade primary school students and seventh to eighth-grade middle school students. The results revealed that students' symbolic ability remained unchanged with grade levels, whereas situational ability showed a significant decline. This study uncovers relatively independent developmental trajectories for situational and symbolic abilities. The findings of this study suggest that mathematics education should equally emphasize the cultivation of both symbolic and situational abilities in students, rather than focusing solely on the development of symbolic ability.