The Cognitive Profiles Of Students With Low Academic Achievement In Mathematics- Cases From Primary School In Algeria

Abstract

The results of low academic achievement in mathematics are related to many factors, including the cognitive aspect of the students, so the current study aims to investigate the cognitive profile of students with low academic achievement in mathematics, and to reach the purpose of the study, three areas of cognitive processes associated with low achievement in mathematics were researched: working memory(WM), processing speed(PS) and Perceptual Reasoning (PR), using the Wechsler Intelligence Test for Children IV. By following the descriptive approach, the subtests of this test were applied, namely: The number memory test, the letter-number sequence test, the arithmetic test for the working memory index, as for the subtests of deletion, coding and symbol search for the processing speed index, and the tests for the Perceptual Reasoning index represented by its tests in cubes, matrices and image repetition on a sample of students selected by random method from primary schools from the western side of Algiers, which amounted to (36) male and female students, where the results of the study resulted in the following:
students are characterized by a very weak level of working memory, processing speed and cognitive demonstration, as the poor performance of these indicators was associated with the low level of academic achievement in the sample of students under study, and thus the results showed three weak cognitive features characterized by low-achieving students in mathematics.