Objective: This study investigated whether it was possible to determine the risk of having mathematics disorder with a simple screening tool containing four types of basic number processing tasks.
Method: Mathematics Achievement Tests (MAT) and Basic Number Processing Tests (BNPT) were administered to a total of 487 students from first through fourth grade of 12 different elementary schools in Ankara, Turkey. Students with a general learning disorder, mainstreamed students, and students with diagnosis of attention deficit were excluded from the study. Random dot enumeration, canonic dot enumeration, symbolic number comparison and mental number line estimation tasks were used in Basic Number Processing Tests. Based on Mathematics Achievement Test scores, students were grouped into mathematics disorder risk, low achievement, and typical achievement. StudentsÂ’ Basic Number Processing Tests scores were analyzed one by one in comparison to grade level averages.
Results: Based on these comparisons we found that in all four grade levels, students with mathematics disorder risk got scores lower than grade level mean at least in one Basic Number Processing Test.
Conclusion: These results showed that the developed screening tool has a potential in effectively determining students with mathematics disorder risks. The tool might also be helpful in early diagnosis and intervention of students with mathematics disorder risk.
Key words: Low math achievement, mathematics disorder, dot enumeration, number line estimation, numeric comparison
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