Eric.ed.gov – Project AutoMath: The Design, Development and Dissemination of an Empirically Based Drill and Practice Software Package for Facilitating Mildly Handicapped Pupil’s Acquisition of Basic Math Skills. Final Report.

This report describes the federally funded development and field testing of a math drill and practice computer software program for students with mild disabilities. Program features include: pre-assessment of pupil speed and accuracy, automatic placement of the pupil in appropriate problems for practice, automatic monitoring of pupil performance, and automatic adjustment of practice problems. Field testing was undertaken with junior and senior high students with learning disabilities as well as with grade 4-5 students without disabilities. A user’s manual included with the report offers a quick reference to basic operations of the program, detailed information regarding each program component and associated decision-making algorithms, and a glossary of terms. A teacher’s handbook provides guidelines for applying drill and practice in special and remedial math instruction, explains the theoretical and research basis for drill and practice, and includes a 40-item bibliography. A paper entitled “Microcomputer-Based Assessment of the Speed of Retrieval of Multiplication Facts, Extended Practice, and the Development of Automaticity” by Michael M. Gerber et al. is also appended. It reports on a study with elementary students who performed poorly in arithmetic. (Contains 28 references.) (SW)