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，影响个人的基本数字技能，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今后的生活前景，包括就业、继续教育和心理健康产生不利影响。尽管计算障碍影响3-6%的儿童，因此具有与阅读障碍相似的患病率，但在英国，患有阅读障碍的学生被正式诊断（并接受教育支持）的可能性比患有计算障碍的学生高出100倍。结果，到中学结束时，英国数学成绩最好和最差的学生之间的差距相当于8年的学校教育，这比其他大多数国家都要大。因此，该项目的目的是通过开发和标准化适用于中学生的筛查工具来促进计算障碍的诊断，使有数学困难的儿童能够获得他们需要和应得的有针对性的教育支持。计算障碍通常是使用标准化的数学测试和背景信息的临床综合相结合来诊断的。因此，目前的项目将提供一个标准化的数学评估工具，同时提供一个行为清单（以支持初步筛查和了解与计算障碍有关的日常困难）和一个人口调查表。该项目还将包括更广泛的认知评估（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和标准化工作，本项目旨在确定i）中学计算障碍风险的主要指标，ii）与计算障碍相关的数学困难的典型领域，以及iii）具有计算障碍经历的日常困难学生（例如，左右混淆，时间估计的问题）。第一项研究将涉及制定临床检查表和数学评估，最初将向大约60名学生进行评估，然后进行改进，并向大约100名学生进行验证。在第二项研究中，数学评估，临床检查表，选择高度诊断性的认知测试，以及一些人口统计问题将被管理到一个更大的样本中学生（约200名学生/年组）。这项研究的结果将与现有的标准化数学测验、学生数学和英语成绩的学校记录以及50名计算障碍学生的成绩进行比较。在此基础上，我们的目标是推荐一个临界点，以确定哪些学生有计算障碍的风险，以及哪些学生应该被转介到进一步的教育心理评估。在这个项目中，研究人员将与计算障碍网络密切合作，该组织专门为计算障碍儿童提供评估和教育干预。与计算障碍网络的合作活动将侧重于开发计算障碍评估材料（例如，通过与教师和学生就评估和干预材料进行焦点小组讨论），组织专业发展活动，与家长和学生接触，并为实证研究的招聘做出贡献。该组织的博士研究员的安置期将提供计算障碍患者所面临困难的第一手经验，这将有助于筛选工具的创建和标准化，并帮助回答三个研究问题。

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.