Place-value computation in children with mathematics difficulties.

Recent research has provided initial evidence that children with math difficulties (MD) experience problems in processing place-value information in basic numerical tasks. However, it remains unclear whether these problems generalize to basic arithmetic operations. For instance, multi-digit addition problems with carryover specifically require the computation of place-value information. Yet little is known about the carry effect in children with MD. Therefore, the current study investigated whether problems in processing place-value information among third-grade children with MD (n = 29 9-year-olds) compared with an age-matched control group (n = 50) generalize to two-digit addition. The results indicate an increased carry effect for response latencies and error rates in children with MD. These findings suggest that deficits in processing place-value information among children with MD generalize to place-value computations in multi-digit arithmetic. Potential contributions of strategy use and working memory for difficulties in processing place-value information are discussed.

Math Fluency during Primary School.

Math fluency is the ability to solve arithmetic facts quickly and accurately (i.e., addition and subtraction problems up to 20, and multiplication and division problems from the multiplication table). Curricula in primary school devote a significant period of time for learning and retrieval of arithmetic facts. Recently, a new computerized tool to assess math fluency-the BGU-MF (Ben-Gurion University Math Fluency) test-was developed and found to be a reliable and valid tool for adults. In the current study, we examine the performance of first to sixth-grade children in math fluency using the BGU-MF. The results present the performance of MF during childhood and emphasize that it continues to develop during primary school. Importantly, proficiency of MF differed by operations, and the automaticity of math facts was acquired in different grades. Moreover, we found that the BGU-MF is a reliable and valid tool not only for adults but also for children during primary school. Our study has educational implications for the teaching, practice, and retrieval of arithmetic facts.

La construcción de hechos numéricos básicos: incidencia del sexo, curso y nivel socioeconómico del alumno

Existe amplia evidencia a nivel internacional para confirmar una desventaja académica en el rendimiento matemático de alumnos provenientes de niveles socioeconómicos (NSE) bajos. Con el fin de intervenir en esta problemática, resulta necesario detallar las características de este déficit por curso escolar, sexo y subhabilidad matemática. Hasta el momento, escasos estudios han abordado la interacción de estos factores en una misma muestra de participantes. De esta forma, nos propusimos analizar la construcción de hechos numéricos básicos (HNB) de suma, resta y multiplicación en una muestra de 619 escolares de 2º a 6º grado escolar a la luz de las variables NSE y sexo. Más allá de confirmar la desventaja socioeconómica en todos los cursos escolares y en ambos sexos, nuestros resultados reflejan, un rendimiento superior de hombres sobre mujeres solamente en el NSE medio-alto y en HNB de multiplicación. Futuras investigaciones son necesarias para indagar en este resultado inesperado.

Worldwide students from low socioeconomic status (SES) have been shown to present an academic disadvantage with respect to their mathematical abilities. In order to approach this problem, details of the characteristics in different school levels, students of different sex and different mathematical subskills are needed. To our knowledge, few studies have explored the interaction of these factors in the same sample of participants. Therefore, we aim to analyse the influence of SES and sex on the addition, subtraction and multiplication math facts (MF) skills of a sample of 619 primary school students from year 2 to 6. Besides confirming the socioeconomic disadvantage in all school years and in students of both sexes, our results reveal a higher performance of boys over girls only in medium to higher SES and in multiplication MF. Future research is needed to investigate this unexpected result.