Pupils’ School Performance and Their Cognitive Abilities to Solve Problems

The results show that pupils with better grades in the monitored subjects achieve better results in both tests. It also turns out that there are generally statistically insignificant differences between the results of pupils assessed by grades 1 or 2, and between the results of pupils assessed by grades 3 or 4. Pupils’ performance in the two tests might help to strengthen the objectivization of grading at school. They might also help to identify the indicators important for the development of problem-solving skills. The research specifically points at the need of developing algebraic thinking, conception of infinity, spatial imagination, geometric imagination in the plane, proportional reasoning and the abilities of the control of variables.