Strategy use in Multi-Digit Artihmetic: Findings from low Performing Grade 6 Students

Aiming for strategy flexibility is an important goal in arithmetic (e.g. Baroody,
2003; Verschaffel et al., 2007). However, there is limited research about
multidigit arithmetic strategies used by lower achieving students, and if and
how they differ from the normal and higher achieving students (Verschaffel et
al., 2007). In this study, data from 685 Danish grade 6 students’ written answers
to multidigit addition, subtraction and multiplication was anlysed for accuracy
and strategy type. In the written, Tri-phase Flexibility Assessment (Xu et al.,
2017), students communicate their solution strategies. The strategies were
categorised, number-based strategies, for example decomposition, sequential
and compensation, digit-based strategies, most commonly the standard
algorithm, no solution, when the student did not communicate a method,
and other methods. The use of (i) number-based strategies and (ii) standard
algorithm was compared by achievement group, as defined by results from the
Danish national test in mathematics: Two low achieving student groups, LA1
(the lowest 10%), LA2 (next 25%), average achieving group, AA (the 30% of
students closest to the mean score), and two high achieving groups, HA1 (the
highest 10%) and HA2 (the next 25%).