The evidence-based screener for maths learning difficulties and dyscalculia.
We are currently standardising Numeralis.
If you are:
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an educator or SENCO working in primary, secondary or tertiary education,
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a parent or caregiver of a child with dyscalculia,
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an adult with dyscalculia
Please get in touch if you were interested in working with us on the development of Numeralis.
​We are currently collecting data from different age groups, and from individuals with a range of mathematics abilities with the aim of making Numeralis available for students at all levels of education, from primary school (KS2) to university. Numeralis identifies individuals at risk of mathematics learning difficulties and dyscalculia, and provides first suggestions on how to support them best, by highlighting areas of strengths and weaknesses in their cognitive profiles. In addition to basic and more advanced mathematics skills, Numeralis also measures some general cognitive skills, such as working memory, that are closely related to mathematics.
Numeralis at a glance
Age range
7 - 99 years
Test duration
Approximately 40 minutes
Test format
Online
Measures
Numeralis includes 14 brief tasks, measuring basic and advanced mathematics skills, and general cognitive skills related to mathematics.
Our aims and vision
Based on rigorous research, we aim to support students' learning, and everyday experiences by offering Numeralis - a valid, reliable, affordable and easy-to-use screening tool to help identify children and adults experiencing mathematics learning difficulties, and potentially, dyscalculia. Numeralis provides age-appropriate assessmnet for students at different stages of education, from primary school (KS2) to university, with the aim to inform support and intervention.
About dyscalculia
Dyscalculia is a specific learning disability characterised by persistent difficulties in understanding and using numbers, leading to challenges with acquiring mathematical skills. It affects around 5% of people. This means that within a class of 30, there is likely to be at least one child with dyscalculia. Despite this high prevalence, which is similar to that of dyslexia, dyscalculia remains undiagnosed, and misunderstood by many. Maths learning difficulties have been shown to negatively impact educational and career prospects, as well as health and quality of life. For this reason, a diagnosis of dyscalculia is of critical importance, to enable access to interventions and reasonable adjustments, and mitigate the possibility of negative outcomes.
What we offer
Numeralis involves gamified, computerised tasks to reliably measure a range of mathematics skills, as well as a broader set of cognitive abilities that support mathematics learning and performance. Once the standardisation of the tasks is completed for each age group, Numeralis will provide automated feedback and recommendations on next steps for assessors, educators and parents. Although Numeralis, in itself, cannot be used for clinical diagnosis of dyscalculia, it can be used as part of the diagnostic process, or as an initial screening tool to indicate whether further formal assessment may be beneficial.
Examples of tasks in Numeralis
The tasks used in Numeralis have been carefully selected, based on up-to-date research evidence, to measure a range of basic and advanced mathematics skills, and a variety of general cognitive skills related to mathematics. Here we give a few examples of the 14 tasks included in Numeralis.
Arithmetic Fluency
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Arithmetic fluency measures how quickly and accurately a person can solve a series of basic arithmetic problems. We have two versions of the arithmetic fluency task: one is focused on basic addition, and the other one is focused on basic subtraction. In these tasks, participants see a series of basic arithmetic problems with solutions (for example, 8 + 8 = 18; 13 – 7 = 6), and they have to decide as quickly as possible if the solution is correct or incorrect by clicking “True” or “False”. They have 60 seconds to solve as many problems as they can.
Impairments in arithmetic skills are considered a core problem in dyscalculia.
Individualised feedback for students, parents and educators
Using the standardisation data collected from students with a range of mathematics abilities, at different levels of education, we can identify different cognitive profiles, reflecting students’ individual strengths and weaknesses in mathematics and mathematics-related skills. This information can be used to develop efficient intervention methods, and to make recommendations for reasonable adjustments. We can also give indications if a student has mathematics skills within the typical range or if they show signs of outstanding skills, or potentially, giftedness.
Want to help?
We are working hard on data collection to standardise the tasks involved in Numeralis, and to make it an accessible, valid and reliable screening tool. If you would like to assist us with this or want to find out more, please click here to find out how you can get involved!