Validation of enumeration and calculation tasks in the Examath 5-8 test

Abstract

Arithmetic and enumeration are two essential skills for learning mathematics. Difficulties in their development are present in children with a specific learning disability in mathematics. This is why it is particularly relevant that speech and language pathology assessments evaluate these skills in children enrolled in the first and second grades. The Examath 5-8 battery (Helloin et Lafay, 2021) proposes the evaluation of these skills in relation to recent theoretical models. The aim of the study is to demonstrate that the use of the standardized analysis grids available for the Enumeration Production and Arithmetic Fluency and Strategies subtests allows the analysis and the diagnosis to be refined. The two subtests were given to two groups of children: a group at risk for a specific learning disability in mathematics (AR) and a control group (CTRL). The results showed that the qualitative analysis grids were reliable and easy to use and that the guideline and videos helped to their use. The identification of clinical benchmarks allows the child to be situated in relation to others of the same grade and thus the speech-language pathologist to be able to adapt care.