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Tablet computers (tablets) are positioned to be powerful, innovative, effective, and motivating research and assessment tools. We addressed two questions critical for evaluating the appropriateness of using tablets to study number-line estimation, a skill associated with math achievement and argued to be central to numerical cognition. First, is performance with paper and pencil comparable with performance on a tablet? Second, is comparability affected by students' preference for one method of presentation? Thirty-two students in Grade 6 estimated targets on a number line; half estimated with paper and pencil and half with a tablet. For both presentation methods, students' performance was comparable. Students liked both presentation conditions equally but, when asked to choose, most students preferred the tablet. Preference did not influence comparability of results across presentation methods. Finally, students' reasons for their preferences were explored, along with implications for using tablet applications in research and educational assessment.

The principle of "inversion," that a + b - b "must" equal a, is a fundamental property of arithmetic, but many children fail to apply it in symbolic contexts through 10 years of age. We explore three hypotheses relating to the use of inversion that stem from a model proposed by Siegler and Araya (2005). Hypothesis 1 is that greater calculational skill is related to greater use of inversion. Hypothesis 2 is that greater attentional skill is related to greater use of inversion. Hypothesis 3 is that the relation between attentional skill and the use of inversion is particularly strong among children with high skill in calculation. We found suggestive evidence for Hypothesis 2 and clear evidence for Hypothesis 3, indicating that for children who are strong at calculation, attentional flexibility is related to use of inversion.

The goal of this study was to examine the relation between mathematics and working memory in young children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD). Children with FASD and comparison children (4 to 6 years old) completed standardized tests of mathematics and working memory. Children with FASD showed impairments on mathematics (applied problems and quantitative concepts) as compared to comparison children. The FASD group also performed less well than the comparison group on measures of phonological working memory. Math performance was highly correlated with phonological working memory in both groups and with central executive working memory only in the FASD group. The mathematics deficits in children with FASD appear to be associated with underlying working memory impairments. (Contains 3 tables.)

Most children who are older than 6 years of age apply essential counting principles when they enumerate a set of objects. Essential principles include (a) one-to-one correspondence between items and count words, (b) stable order of the count words, and (c) cardinality--that the last number refers to numerosity. We found that the acquisition of a fourth principle, that the order in which items are counted is irrelevant, follows a different trajectory. The majority of 5- to 11-year-olds indicated that the order in which objects were counted was relevant, favoring a left-to-right, top-to-bottom order of counting. Only some 10- and 11-year-olds applied the principle of order irrelevance, and this knowledge was unrelated to their numeration skill. We conclude that the order irrelevance principle might not play an important role in the development of children's conceptual knowledge of counting. (Contains 1 figure and 1 table.)

Children's failure on equivalence problems (e.g., 5 + 4 = 7 + __) is believed to be the result of misunderstanding the equal sign and has been tested using symbolic problems (including "="). For Study 1 (N = 48), we designed a nonsymbolic method for presenting equivalence problems to determine whether Grade 2 children's difficulty is due to the presence of symbols or to a more fundamental misunderstanding of equivalence. Children's superior performance on nonsymbolic versus symbolic problems suggests that children fail to map their understanding of equivalence onto problems presented with the symbols of arithmetic. For Study 2 (N = 32), we implemented a within-subject design to assess whether experience with nonsymbolic problems would facilitate performance on symbolic problems. This hypothesis was confirmed. Exposure to nonsymbolic problems may have enabled children to map their successful concepts and strategies to symbolic equivalence problems. (Contains 6 figures and 1 table.)

The authors explored the relationship between measures of self-belief, behavioural development, and academic achievement in Canadian Aboriginal children. Standardized measures of intelligence are unable to consistently predict academic achievement in students from indigenous populations. Exploring alternative factors that may be both predictive and amenable to improvements with interventions is therefore important in order to address the growing educational disparity in Canadian Aboriginal children. In this study, significant correlations were found between the Self-Perception Profile for Children rating of behavioural conduct and close friendships, the Behavior Assessment Scales for Children ratings of leadership and study skills, and the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test measures of academic achievement. A school environment that provides opportunities for developing social skills and creating friendships as well as culturally appropriate interventions that support the development of leadership and study skills may provide Canadian Aboriginal children with the tools they need to achieve academically. (Contains 4 tables and 3 notes.)

Knowledge and skill in multiplication were investigated for late elementary-grade students with mathematics learning disabilities (MLD), typically achieving age-matched peers, low-achieving age-matched peers, and ability-matched peers by examining multiple measures of computational skill, working memory, and conceptual knowledge. Poor multiplication fact mastery and calculation fluency and general working memory discriminated children with MLD from typically achieving age-matched peers. Furthermore, children with MLD were slower in executing backup procedures than typically achieving age-matched peers. The performance of children with MLD on multiple measures of multiplication skill and knowledge was most similar to that of ability-matched younger children. MLD may be due to difficulties in computational skills and working memory. Implications for the diagnosis and remediation of MLD are discussed. (Contains 6 tables and 3 notes.)

The principle of inversion--that a + b - b must equal a--requires a sensitivity to the relation between addition and subtraction that is critical for understanding arithmetic. Use of inversion, albeit inconsistent, has been observed in school-age children, but when use of a computational shortcut based on inversion emerges and how awareness of the inversion principle relates to other mathematical or numerical skills remain unclear. Two possibilities were explored in 3-year-olds by adapting a method used previously with older children involving the addition and subtraction of blocks differing in length. These children were significantly more accurate on inversion than standard problems, this difference was observed even in children who did not count well, and performance did not differ between formats that afforded qualitative or quantitative solutions. Thus, 3-year-olds appear to develop an early sensitivity to quantitative inversion. (Contains 2 figures and 1 table.)

Presented preschoolers and first graders with 3-term inversion problems such as 3 + 2 - 2 and similar standard problems to examine whether children used the inversion principle and if use was based on qualitative identity, length, or quantity. Found that both age groups showed evidence of using inversion in a fully quantitative manner, indicating that this principle is available in some form prior to extensive formal mathematics instruction. (Author/KB)

Describes some recent advances in the study of differential group performance and illustrates some of the ways that substantive analyses can be integrated with multidimensional, bundles-based statistical methods using test specifications to organize the analyses. Highlights some future directions for the analysis of differential item functioning. (SLD)

College students judged the credibility of specially constructed news briefs about science. Their credibility ratings were influenced by area of research, plausibility of conclusions, and quality of research methods, but not by the social context of the research. Students justified their judgments with information in reports, prior knowledge, and prior beliefs. Contains 53 references and sample test materials. (Author/SV)

Examines the types of requests for information made by university students (N=60) as they evaluate scientific news briefs. Student requests most often focus on how research is conducted and why results might occur. Contains 47 references. (DDR)

Children's activities related to science, nature, and technology were studied via structured interviews of parents and students in pre-school through upper-elementary grades. Interviews can be used to construct profiles of students to be used as a platform upon which to build instruction. Describes how interviews were developed, what type of information the research obtained, and lessons learned. (Author/DKM)

Two studies were conducted to identify individual differences in the effect of instruction on strategies used to solve figural/numerical analogies. The first study assessed students' use of an appropriate rule for solving analogies and the stimulus attributes they incorporated. In Study 2, verbal protocols of selected subjects were analyzed. (Author/BW)

Investigates performance of 8, 10, 12 year olds and adults on cognitive tasks in terms of several processing-speed measures, each of which may change independently with age. Results underscore the complexity of developmental change in processing efficiency. (Author/RH)

A recognition memory experiment with 8-, 11- and 20-year-olds investigated the hypothesis that, with age, semantic encoding becomes increasingly important relative to acoustic encoding. (CM)