The Role of number sense in the identification and prevention of mathematics disability: a consideration of the phonemic awareness/number sense analogy

In a 1999 paper Gersten and Chard proposed that number sense might be to mathematics what phonemic awareness is to reading. They explained the role of phonemic awareness in reading acquisition and its influence on reading research and argued that an understanding of the concept of number sense could be equally influential in the field of mathematics, in particular for the population of students at risk of developing mathematical disabilities (MD). The present paper examines the analogy in the light of existing literature in the area of number sense and concludes that while it may have some merit from a research point of view there are some inherent risks in the promotion of the analogy prior to the research community providing a definition of number sense and sufficient evidence that it is a prerequisite for mathematics success.