Fraction magnitude student explanations: A latent class analysis

Lindy Crawford; Jacqueline Huscroft-D’Angelo; Sarah Quebec Fuentes; Matthew C. Lambert

doi:10.29333/iejme/17446

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Lindy Crawford ¹ , Jacqueline Huscroft-D’Angelo ² , Sarah Quebec Fuentes ³ ^* , Matthew C. Lambert ⁴

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¹ Lee Pesky Learning Center, USA² Oregon Research Institute, USA³ Texas Christian University, USA⁴ University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, USA^* Corresponding Author

Abstract

The study examined the types of explanations students provide for fraction magnitude problems. Student responses were coded into one of five explanation types: (a) absent, (b) faulty, (c) conceptual-partially developed, (d) algorithmic, and (e) conceptual-fully developed. When examining latent classes specific to students’ explanations of their knowledge of fraction magnitude, a five-class model was the most tenable, conveying the presence of five distinct student profiles. The algorithmic class represented the largest percentage of student explanations and also revealed the strongest correlation with criterion measures. A combined algorithmic-conceptual class was not identified.

Keywords

fractions
magnitude comparison
latent class analysis
explanations
algorithmic
conceptual understanding

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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

INT ELECT J MATH ED, Volume 21, Issue 1, February 2026, Article No: em0861

https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/17446

Publication date: 01 Jan 2026

Online publication date: 19 Nov 2025

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How to cite this article

APA

Crawford, L., Huscroft-D’Angelo, J., Quebec Fuentes, S., & Lambert, M. C. (2026). Fraction magnitude student explanations: A latent class analysis. International Electronic Journal of Mathematics Education, 21(1), em0861. https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/17446

Vancouver

Crawford L, Huscroft-D’Angelo J, Quebec Fuentes S, Lambert MC. Fraction magnitude student explanations: A latent class analysis. INT ELECT J MATH ED. 2026;21(1):em0861. https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/17446

AMA

Crawford L, Huscroft-D’Angelo J, Quebec Fuentes S, Lambert MC. Fraction magnitude student explanations: A latent class analysis. INT ELECT J MATH ED. 2026;21(1), em0861. https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/17446

Chicago

Crawford, Lindy, Jacqueline Huscroft-D’Angelo, Sarah Quebec Fuentes, and Matthew C. Lambert. "Fraction magnitude student explanations: A latent class analysis". International Electronic Journal of Mathematics Education 2026 21 no. 1 (2026): em0861. https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/17446

Harvard

Crawford, L., Huscroft-D’Angelo, J., Quebec Fuentes, S., and Lambert, M. C. (2026). Fraction magnitude student explanations: A latent class analysis. International Electronic Journal of Mathematics Education, 21(1), em0861. https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/17446

MLA

Crawford, Lindy et al. "Fraction magnitude student explanations: A latent class analysis". International Electronic Journal of Mathematics Education, vol. 21, no. 1, 2026, em0861. https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/17446