We make a prima facie case for identifying a single pathway in the learning of Hindu-Arabic numerical symbols and discuss why this ability may be a critical gateway concept in developing mathematical competencies. A representative sample of English and Scottish children was assessed using a number symbol identification paradigm in the Performance Indicators in Primary Schools (PIPS) Baseline assessment at the beginning and end of their first school year. Through a Rasch analysis of real and simulated data, we show that: (1) there appears to be a single, unidimensional pathway in learning to identify number symbols with discrete difficulty stages, (2) on examination of differential item functioning, this pathway is invariant across gender, country, socioeconomic background, first language and across the first year of schooling and (3) almost all children make progress along the pathway during the year. A number identification scale may thus be a universal ruler by which all pupils could be assessed.

Use policyThe full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that:• a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in DRO • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders.Please consult the full DRO policy for further details. BackgroundThe Performance Indicators in Primary Schools On Entry Baseline (PIPS baseline) assessment for pupils starting school includes an item which aims to assess how well a pupil writes his or her own name. There is some debate regarding the utility of this measure, on the grounds that name length may constitute bias.