Investigation And Analysis On The Status Of Mathematical Abilities Of Wuhan Primary Students

Objectives: This study was designed to find out and analyse the differences of mathematical abilities of elementary school students between Wuhan and other domestic cities, and try to seek after the main influencing factors in pupils'mathematical ablility developments, so as to offer scientific references for further research and prevention on enhancing Wuhan mathematical elementary education.Methods: Adopting the multi-phase-stratified-cluster sampling method, 4285 elementary school students were selected randomly from Wuhan and other 6 provincial cities. The students were investigated by utilizing the Chinese Rating Scale of Pupil's Mathematic Abilities and its Norms whose reliability and validity had been verified. Software SAS 8.1 was used to compute the statistical results. The statistical methods used include t test, variance analysis, principal componets analysis etc.Results: The differences in mathematical abilities of Wuhan primary students are statistically significant (P<0.05) which are not only between boys and girls but also between different grades. Mean scores of logical thinking and spatial-visual functions of Wuhan boys and girls are 50.983±5.825 and 49.855±5.7451 respectively, and mean scores of totoal scores of Wuhan boys and girls are 59.473±6.9811 and 57.922±6.7002 respectively. The results show that the mathematical abilities of the Wuhan boys are more excellent than those of the girls in the fields of logical thinking and spatial-visual functions and total scores. Moreover students in grade 3 and 4 of Wuhan elementary schools are more excellent than those in other grades. Division, subtraction, figures counting and length estimation by eyes are the main influencing factors in mathematical ablilities of Wuhan primary students. In addition, comparing with other 6 provincial cities, Wuhan elementary school students rank the first in the fields of mathematical calculation and total scores whose mean scores are 62.278±6.998 and 58.758±6.891 respectively, whereas the third in the field of logical thinking and spatial-visual functions whose mean score is 50.463±5.811. All the above differences are statistically significant (P<0.05).Conclusions: Relevent and effective measures should be taken to strengthen the traingings in logical thinking and spatical-visual functions of Wuhan primary students. Great attentions should be paid to the trainings of abilities in figures counting and length estimation by eyes. It is wished that the mathematical ability gaps could be reduced not only between Wuhan boys and girls but also between primary students in Wuhan and other cities through those efforts.