Project Update: Widening the Use of DyscalculiUM: A First-line Screening Test for Dyscalculia in Higher Education

Dyscalulic students have a low level of numerical or mathematical competence compared to expectation. This expectation being based on unimpaired cognitive and language abilities and occurring within the normal range….With increasing numbers of students, there is a first-line screening test for dyscalculia. The Mathematics Education Centre at Loughborough University has undertaken the development and trialling of a screening test DyscaluliUM; more development is needed. The current project funded by the Maths, Stats & OR Network was set up to : Evaluate the effectiveness of DyscalculiUM within other HEI’s screening proceduares; Improve the screening of students who are at risk of dyscalculia; Raise awareness of dyscalculia and the needs for screening; Move towards gathering validation and reliability data; Collecting further data from large trials from several HEIs. Phase 2 trials are taking place at: Loughborough University, University of Leicester, Harper Adams University College, Robert Gordon University and a sixth-form college Wyggeston & Queen Elizabeth 1. Final outcomes of the project will be presented at the DDIG conference in April 2006.