Beyond Accuracy: Reaction Time and Task Format Effects in Early Mathematical Processing

This exploratory study explores associations among task format, gender-related variation, response accuracy and reaction time (RT) in early mathematics learning. Since traditional assessments often emphasize correctness, the study combines accuracy and RT measures to capture children’s temporal processing patterns during problem solving. Thirty-seven first-grade students in Taiwan (21 girls, 16 boys; M_age = 7.2 years, SD = 0.43) completed two computerized tasks implemented using PsychoPy/Pavlovia involving formula-based symbolic arithmetic and competency-based problems with contextualized text and visual representations. Mixed-effects models were used to analyze RT and accuracy at participant and item levels. Accuracy was higher in the formula-based condition than in the competency-based condition. The Experiment × Gender interaction was not significant, and the final accuracy model showed a significant effect of experiment but no evidence of a significant gender effect. Boys showed numerically higher accuracy than girls in the formula-based condition, but this difference was reduced in the competency-based condition. For correct trials, RTs were longer in the competency-based condition; neither gender nor the Experiment × Gender interaction was significant. In the all-trial RT model, significant Accuracy × Experiment and Accuracy × Gender interactions indicated that RT differences between correct and incorrect trials varied by condition and gender. The fixed task order requires cautious interpretation of these findings.