A recently published interview-based test, known by its partly German acronym, MARKO-D SA, is introduced in this article by way of a narrative of its development through various cycles of research. The 48-item test, in 4 South African languages, captures number concept development of children in the 6 to 8-year age group. The authors present their argument for the South African versioning and translation of the test for this country, where there is a dearth of suitable assessment instruments for gauging young children’s mathematical concept development. We also present the findings of the research that was conducted to standardise and norm the local version of the test, along with our reasoning about the theoretical strength of the conceptual model that undergirds the test.

Intelligence, as well as working memory and attention, affect the acquisition of mathematical competencies. This paper aimed to examine the influence of working memory and attention when taking different mathematical skills into account as a function of children’s intellectual ability. Overall, intelligence, working memory, attention and numerical skills were assessed twice in 1868 German pre-school children (t1, t2) and again at 2nd grade (t3). We defined three intellectual ability groups based on the results of intellectual assessment at t1 and t2. Group comparisons revealed significant differences between the three intellectual ability groups. Over time, children with low intellectual ability showed the lowest achievement in domain-general and numerical and mathematical skills compared to children of average intellectual ability. The highest achievement on the aforementioned variables was found for children of high intellectual ability. Additionally, path modelling revealed that, depending on the intellectual ability, different models of varying complexity could be generated. These models differed with regard to the relevance of the predictors (t2) and the future mathematical skills (t3). Causes and conclusions of these findings are discussed.

Zusammenfassung. Die mentalen Rotationsleistungen als eine Komponente visuell-räumlicher Fähigkeiten stehen in enger Verbindung zur mathematischen Entwicklung sowie zum schulischen und beruflichen ... Assessment of Mental Rotation Performance at Primary School Age. A Computer-Based Test Procedure for First to Third Grades (cMR) Mental rotation performance as a part of visuospatial skil...

Zusammenfassung: Binnendifferenzierung gilt als bedeutsames Merkmal von Unterrichtsqualität, um Lernende bestmöglich in der Entwicklung ihrer Leistungen zu fördern. Insbesondere im inklusiven Grundschulunterricht sind Lehrkräfte herausgefordert, durch ein differenziertes Lernangebot an die Lernausgangslagen von Schüler*innen anzuknüpfen. Zu den Effekten von Binnendifferenzierung auf die Leistungsentwicklung von Schüler*innen gibt es jedoch nur wenige und zugleich divergierende Befunde. Dies liegt teils auch an der uneinheitlichen Erfassung binnendifferenzierender Maßnahmen. Der Beitrag stellt ein standardisiertes Logbuch als neues Instrument zur Erfassung von Unterrichtsgestaltung vor und untersucht, ob binnendifferenzierende Maßnahmen auf die fachspezifische Leistungsentwicklung im Textverständnis sowie in Mathematik wirken und ob sie den Zusammenhang zwischen sonderpädagogischem Förderbedarf und fachspezifischer Leistung moderieren. An der Untersuchung nahmen n = 677 Schüler*innen aus 34 Klassen (Textverständnis) und n = 635 Schüler*innen aus 32 Klassen (Mathematik) der 2. und 3. Jahrgangsstufe und ihre Lehrkräfte teil. Ein Effekt differenzierender Maßnahmen in Einzelarbeitsphasen wurden für die Leistungsentwicklung in Mathematik dokumentiert. Differenzierung in Einzelarbeitsphasen moderierte darüber hinaus den Zusammenhang zwischen sonderpädagogischem Förderbedarf und Mathematikleistung. Für das Textverständnis konnten keine Effekte berichtet werden.

Background: Learning difficulties (LD) frequently co-occur with emotional and behavioral problems. Method: We analyzed the prevalence rates of LD (assessed with standardized achievement tests) and psychopathological problems reported by parents regarding the children's gender in a large German epidemiological sample of 1264 second graders (53% boys). Results: The prevalence of LD in one or more learning domains was 19%; psychopathological problems were reported for 8% of the sample. Regarding gender differences, there was a significant overrepresentation of girls with arithmetic difficulties and of boys in spelling and – marginally – combined reading and spelling difficulties. Compared to children without LD, girls with combined spelling difficulties showed significantly higher odds (than boys) for psychopathological problems (odds ratio for combined arithmetic: 1.7; combined reading: 2.8). The odds ratios for conduct problems were particularly higher for girls with isolated arithmetic difficulties (2.9) and combined spelling difficulties (up to 3.7). The probability of comorbid psychopathological problems was three times higher for children with LD than for their unaffected peers. Children with arithmetic disorders (isolated and combined) were the most affected by additional behavioral, emotional, or attentional problems (up to 32%). Discussion: The results highlight the gender-specific odds ratios for learning difficulties and co-occurring behavioral problems. They emphasize the need for psychopathological assessment of children with LD.