Proceedings of the Day Conferences

Abstract

Dynamo Assessment is a computerized assessment that tests children's performance on 14 mathematical components. 4 of these components involve number magnitude (visual quantity approximation, ordering numbers, number comparison, estimation); 4 involve number meanings (counting; single-digit number symbols; multi-digit number symbols; sequencing) and 6 involve number relationships and arithmetic (number facts; mental strategies; number bonds; problem solving; tens; and multiplication. It has mainly been used to plan interventions. This study aimed to find out more about typically developing children's performance. 2759 children between 7 and 11 underwent the assessment. Key findings are that all tests correlate significantly with one another, and that performance on all tests improves with age. When the Number Magnitude scores were grouped together, the biggest age change seemed to occur between ages 9 and 10. The same was true for the Number Relationships scores. When the Number Meaning scores were grouped together, the biggest age change seemed to occur between ages 8 and 9. The Number Meaning and Number Magnitude scores correlated negatively with the reaction times to these tests (faster children did better), but the Number Relationships score correlated positively with reaction time (slower children did better). Implications for our understanding of mathematical development are discussed.