Research results on dyscalculia

In August 2024, a research article written in collaboration with TRILA researchers was published in the journal Research in Developmental Disabilities. The results of the study showed that knowledge of students’ number concept skills helps to identify students who have dyscalculia (about 5% of the population) or who perform at a low level (about 25% of the population). The study used arithmetic fluency (e.g. speed and accuracy in adding and subtracting single and double digit numbers) as a reference standard. Based on the results of the study, measuring both number concept and arithmetic fluency is important when trying to identify children with dyscalculia.

The analysis was carried out on data collected using the ViLLE system, which consisted of the responses of 18,405 children in grades 3–9 to the FUNA-DB screening test measuring basic mathematical skills. In February 2025, a manual (FI) was published on the TRILA website, describing the FUNA-DB test and its statistical analyses in more detail. The statistical analyses in the manual are intended to demonstrate that the FUNA-DB is psychometrically valid and reliable. The manual also contains instructions for teachers on how to review their own teaching group’s FUNA-DB results in ViLLE.