Development and standardization of a dyscalculia screening tool for secondary school.

计算障碍是一种特殊的数学学习障碍，影响个体的基本数值技能、对算术事实的记忆、流畅的计算和准确的数学推理。这些困难对儿童的教育成就以及他们未来的生活前景，包括就业、继续教育和心理健康都有不利的影响。尽管有3%-6%的儿童患有计算障碍，因此阅读障碍的患病率与阅读障碍相似，但在英国，阅读障碍学生被正式诊断(并接受教育支持)的可能性大约是计算障碍学生的100倍。因此，到中学结束时，英国数学成绩最好的学生和最差的学生之间的差距大约相当于八年的教育时间，这比大多数其他国家都要大。因此，这个项目的目的是通过开发和标准化一种适合中学生的筛查工具来提高计算障碍的诊断水平，使有数学困难的儿童能够得到他们需要和应得的有针对性的教育支持。计算障碍通常是通过标准化的数学测试和临床综合背景信息来诊断的。因此，目前的项目将提供一个标准化的数学评估工具，并附有一份行为清单(以支持初步筛查和了解与计算障碍有关的日常困难)和一份人口调查问卷。该项目还将包括一项更广泛的认知评估(工作记忆和一些基本的数字技能)。根据两项实证研究的发展及标准化工作，这项计划旨在找出：i)中学有计算障碍风险的主要指标；ii)与计算障碍有关的典型数学困难范畴；及iii)日常生活中有计算障碍经验的学生(例如左右混淆、时间估计有问题)。第一项研究将涉及制定临床检查表和数学评估，最初将对大约60名学生进行测试，然后对另一份约100名学生的样本进行完善和验证。在第二项研究中，数学评估、临床检查表、一系列高度具有诊断性的认知测试以及一些人口统计学问题将在更大的中学生样本(约200名学生/年组)中进行。这项测试的结果将与现有的标准化数学测试、学生的数学和英语成绩以及50名计算障碍学生的表现进行比较。基于这项经验性的工作，我们旨在推荐分界点，以确定哪些学生有计算障碍的风险，哪些学生应该被转介到进一步的教育心理学评估。在这项计划中，调查人员将与计算障碍网络密切合作，该网络是一个专门为计算障碍儿童提供评估和教育干预的组织。与计算障碍网络的协作活动将侧重于编制计算障碍的评估材料(例如，与教师和学生就评估和干预材料开展重点小组)，组织专业发展活动，与家长和学生接触，并为实证研究招募人员。该组织的博士生研究人员的安置周期将提供计算障碍患者面临的困难的第一手经验，这将有助于筛查工具的创建和标准化，并有助于回答三个研究问题。

Dyscalculia is a specific learning disorder in mathematics, affecting individual's basic numerical skills, memorisation of arithmetic facts, fluent calculation, and accurate math reasoning. These difficulties have detrimental effects on a child's educational achievement, as well as their further life prospects, including employment, further education, and mental health. Despite dyscalculia affecting 3-6% of children, and thus having a similar prevalence to dyslexia, students with dyslexia are about a hundred times more likely to be officially diagnosed (and to receive educational support) in the UK than students with dyscalculia. As a result, by the end of secondary school, the gap between the highest and lowest achieving students in mathematics in England equals around eight years of schooling, which is more than in most other countries. Therefore, the aim of this project is to advance the diagnosis of dyscalculia by developing and standardising a screening tool appropriate for secondary school students, to allow children with mathematical difficulties to receive the targeted educational support they need and deserve. Dyscalculia is typically diagnosed using a combination of a standardised mathematics test and a clinical synthesis of background information. Accordingly, the current project will provide a standardized mathematics assessment tool, accompanied by a behavioural checklist (to support initial screening and learn about everyday difficulties associated with dyscalculia) and a demographic questionnaire. The project will also include a broader cognitive assessment (of working memory and some basic numerical skills). It is anticipated that the tools produced from this project will highlight students' specific strengths and weaknesses which can inform subsequent intervention.Based on the development and standardisation work from two empirical studies, this project aims to identify i) the main indicators of being at-risk for dyscalculia in secondary school, ii) typical areas of difficulty in mathematics associated with dyscalculia, and iii) everyday difficulties students with dyscalculia experience (e.g., confusing left and right, problems with time estimation). The first study will involve the development of the clinical checklist and the mathematics assessment, which will initially be administered to about 60 students, and then refined and administered to another sample of about 100 students for validation. In the second study, the mathematics assessment, clinical checklist, a selection of highly diagnostic cognitive tests, and some demographic questions will be administered to a larger sample of secondary school students (about 200 students/year group). Results from this will be compared against an already existing standardised mathematics test and school records of students' mathematics and English performance, as well as performance of 50 dyscalculic students. Based on this empirical work, we aim to recommend cut-off points for identifying students who are at risk of dyscalculia, and who should be referred to further educational psychology assessment.In the project, the investigators will be collaborating closely with The Dyscalculia Network, an organisation specialising in providing assessment and educational interventions for children with dyscalculia. Collaborative activities with the Dyscalculia Network will focus on the development of assessment materials for dyscalculia (e.g., by conducting focus groups with teachers and pupils about the assessment and intervention materials), organising professional development events, engaging with parents and pupils, and contributing to recruitment for the empirical studies. Placement periods for the doctoral researcher at the organisation will provide first-hand experience of the difficulties faced by individuals with dyscalculia, which will assist in the creation and standardisation of the screening tool, as well as help answer the three research questions.