Diagnosing Strengths and Weaknesses of Sixth-Grade Students in Solving Word Problems

Abstract

A diagnostic system developed by the investigators was used to determine the strengths and weaknesses of sixth-grade students in solving word problems. The diagnostic system involved three separate tests at each of six levels of difficulty. These tests were administered to all sixth-grade students in two elementary schools. Complete data were obtained for 217 students, and these data provided a diagnostic profile for each student consisting of a score for computational skills, a score for reading skills, a score for problem-interpretation skills, and a score for skills in integrating the other skills into the total solution of word problems. Each of computation, reading, and problem-interpretation skills represented the major difficulty in word problem solving.