Mathematical Profile Test: A Preliminary Evaluation of an Online Assessment for Mathematics Skills of Children in Grades 1–6

Abstract

The domain of numerical cognition still lacks an assessment tool that is theoretically driven and that covers a wide range of key numerical processes with the aim of identifying the learning profiles of children with difficulties in mathematics (MD) or dyscalculia. This paper is the first presentation of an online collectively administered tool developed to meet these goals. The Mathematical Profile Test (MathPro Test) includes 18 subtests that assess numerical skills related to the core number domain or to the visual-spatial, memory or reasoning domains. The specific aim of this paper is to present the preliminary evaluation both of the sensitivity and the psychometric characteristics of the individual measures of the MathPro Test, which was administered to 622 primary school children (grades 1–6) in Belgium. Performance on the subtests increased across all grades and varied along the level of difficulty of the items, supporting the sensitivity of the test. The MathPro Test also showed satisfactory internal consistency and significant and stable correlation with a standardized test in mathematics across all grades. In particular, the achievement in mathematics was strongly associated with the performance on the subtests assessing the reasoning and the visuospatial domains throughout all school grades, whereas associations with the core number and memory tasks were found mainly in the younger children. MD children performed significantly lower than their peers; these differences in performance on the MathPro subtests also varied according to the school grades, informing us about the developmental changes of the weaknesses of children with MD. These results suggest that the MathPro Test is a very promising tool for conducting large scale research and for clinicians to sketch out the mathematical profile of children with MD or dyscalculia.