ICT-based dynamic assessment to reveal special education students' potential in mathematics.

This paper reports on a research project on information and communication technology (ICT)-based dynamic assessment. The project aims to reveal the mathematical potential of students in special education. The focus is on a topic that is generally recognised as rather difficult for weak students: subtraction up to 100 with crossing the ten. The students involved in the project were 8-12 years old. Their mathematical level was one to four years behind the level of their peer group in regular schools. In special education, teachers often use standardised written tests to assess their students' mathematical understanding and computational skills. These tests do not allow students to use auxiliary resources. In the research project, an assessment instrument was developed and used in which items taken from a standardised written test were placed in an ICT environment. The digitised items were enriched with an optional auxiliary tool that students could use for solving the problems. Currently, two sub-studies, investigating two different auxiliary tools for the same set of subtraction problems, have been completed. In the first study (n = 37), the tool provided students with digital manipulatives. In the second study (n = 43), an empty number line was included in the ICT environment. In both studies the students' scores in the ICT version of the test items were compared with the standardised written version of the test items. The results of both sub-studies show that the students could benefit from using an auxiliary tool. Consequently, the ICT-based dynamic assessment could help to reveal weak students' potential in subtraction. In addition, the studies disclosed that in the manipulatives study there was a clear preference for direct subtraction procedures (taking away), whereas in the number line study indirect addition or subtraction procedures (e.g. adding on) were frequently used as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]