HOME NUMERACY PRACTICES AND MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT TRAJECTORIES OF ELEMENTARY LEARNERS IN BEBIANO ALBA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: A RETROSPECTIVE LONGITUDINAL CORRELATIONAL STUDY

Educational Management

This study examined the relationship between home numeracy practices and Mathematics achievement trajectories among elementary learners of Bebiano Alba Elementary School, Schools Division of Bislig City, during School Year 2025–2026. A quantitative retrospective longitudinal correlational design with descriptive components was employed. The participants were 124 parents or primary caregivers of Grade 1 to Grade 6 learners, identified through total enumeration. Home numeracy practices were measured using a 24-item researcher-adapted questionnaire covering four dimensions: formal numeracy activities, informal or everyday numeracy activities, numeracy learning support, and numeracy interaction and encouragement. The instrument demonstrated acceptable internal consistency, with an overall Cronbach’s alpha of .86 and dimension coefficients ranging from .79 to .83. Mathematics achievement was represented by the learners’ official first-, second-, third-, and fourth-quarter Mathematics grades. Descriptive statistics, Pearson product-moment correlation, multiple linear regression, and linear mixed-effects growth modeling were used. Overall home numeracy practices were at a high level (M = 2.85, SD = 0.32), with informal or everyday numeracy activities most frequently reported (M = 3.02) and formal numeracy activities least frequently reported (M = 2.66). Quarterly Mathematics achievement remained within the Satisfactory descriptor, with means of 83.03, 83.43, 84.31, and 83.60 from the first through fourth quarters, respectively. Trajectory analysis identified 49 learners (39.5%) with improving achievement, 48 (38.7%) with stable achievement, and 27 (21.8%) with declining achievement. The overall effect of quarter was significant, Wald χ²(3) = 42.21, p < .001, reflecting improvement through the third quarter followed by a fourth-quarter decline. Overall home numeracy practices were moderately and positively associated with Mathematics achievement (r = .502, p < .001). The Time × Home Numeracy Practices interaction was also significant (B = 1.16, p < .001), indicating that stronger home numeracy practices were associated with more favorable achievement trajectories. Multiple regression showed that the four dimensions explained 27.5% of the variance in overall Mathematics achievement; formal numeracy activities and numeracy interaction and encouragement were significant unique predictors. The findings suggest that the school–home response should emphasize purposeful formal Mathematics practice, reasoning-oriented interaction, and early monitoring of declining achievement rather than simply increasing general parental supervision. Because the study was observational and retrospective, the relationships are interpreted as associations rather than causal effects.

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