This data collection contains data from a large battery of mathematics and executive function tasks administered to a sample of 403 participants aged between 5 and 25 years of age. The data collection includes standardised assessments of mathematics, the Numerical Operations and Mathematical Reasoning subtests from the Weschler Individual Achievement Test (WIAT-II UK), in addition to age appropriate experimental mathematics tests of factual knowledge, procedural skill and conceptual understanding in the domain of arithmetic. Executive functions were assessed with experimental tasks measuring verbal and visuospatial short-term and working memory, inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility and selective attention. Questionnaire measures of mathematics anxiety and the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function were also administered. These data underpin the following papers: Gilmore, C., Keeble, S., Richardson, S., & Cragg, L. (2015). The role of cognitive inhibition in different components of arithmetic. ZDM, 1–12. (see Related Resources) Gilmore, C., Keeble, S., Richardson, S., & Cragg, L. (submitted). The interaction of procedural skill, conceptual understanding and executive functions in early mathematics achievement. Cragg, L., Keeble, S., Richardson, S., Roome, H., & Gilmore, C. (in preparation). Direct and indirect influences of executive functions on mathematics achievement. A high proportion of children and adults struggle with learning and doing maths. To help them we need to have a clear understanding of the processes involved in mathematics. There are lots of different skills involved in successful maths performance including maths specific knowledge such as knowledge of facts, procedures, and concepts as well as other more general skills. These include holding and manipulating information in mind (working memory), flexible thinking (shifting), and focusing on relevant information and ignoring distractions (inhibition). These skills are often termed 'executive function' skills and are thought to be particularly important for learning maths. To date, this basic understanding of the importance of executive function skills has not been exploited in the classroom because our understanding is not detailed enough. This project will explore the relationship between maths and executive function skills in greater depth using a variety of different research methods. This research will reveal the ways in which executive function skills are involved in learning and doing maths and help us to understand why some children find maths easy, and other children struggle.These findings will be used to raise teachers’ awareness of the importance of considering executive functions skills when teaching maths.

This study used an empirical, experimental data collection method. The sample was recruited from schools and universities in the Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire area. Data were originally collected from seventy-five 5-6-year-olds (Year 1), eighty-four 8-9-year-olds (Year 4), sixty-seven 11-12-year-olds (Year 7), sixty-seven 13-14-year-olds (Year 9) and seventy-five 18-25-year-olds. Thirty-five of the original sample of adults spoke English as a second language (ESL). Initial analyses revealed that this was influencing the results, particularly on the verbal tasks. As a result, data was collected from a further 35 monolingual adults. The Year 1 students attended one of two primary schools. The Year 4 students all attended the same primary school and the Year 7 and 9 students all attended the same secondary school. The 18-25-year-olds were all students at either Loughborough University or the University of Nottingham. Participants were assessed individually at their school or university. Each participant completed a battery of mathematics and executive function tasks lasting approximately 2 hours. For the Year 1 and Year 4 participants this was split across a number of shorter sessions. All of the experimental tasks were programmed using Psychopy software (www.psychopy.org) and presented on HP laptop computers. Further details about the tasks used and measures taken can be found in the task description and read me documents.