Maths & Dyscalculia

Attainment data shows how a pupil is doing in maths, not why. This screening assessment measures the skills underneath, so you can see where difficulty is concentrated and what support will help.

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See a sample report

Illustration: an adult and a child at a laptop with the Talamo Number line task, beside cards from Logan Roberts’ sample report: Applying maths 61, Maths vocabulary 94 and the secondary indicator ‘Signs of dyscalculia’.

Age range

7–16

Years 2 to 12

Time

35–45 mins

Can be split across sittings

Format

Online, in school

Whole class, small group or one pupil

Who runs it

A teacher or TA

No specialist qualification needed

What you get

Maths profile

Plus a signs‑of‑dyscalculia indicator, Level of Need and next steps

What it measures

Five maths areas, plus the thinking skills behind them

Children find maths hard for many reasons: limited working memory, slow processing, the language of word problems, gaps in what they’ve been taught and, for some, a profile consistent with dyscalculia. That’s why the main result is a profile across five maths areas, with three thinking skills for context.

Maths area

Number understanding

Knowing what numbers mean and how they relate: where a number sits on a line, which is bigger, what order they go in and how they’re written.

Tasks:

Number line

Size

Ordering

Writing numbers

Maths area

Quantity understanding

Recognising how many things there are, by counting quickly or at a glance.

Tasks:

Counting dots

Estimating

Maths area

Arithmetic fluency

Answering written additions, subtractions and multiplications quickly and accurately.

Tasks:

Adding

Subtracting

Multiplying

Maths area

Applying maths

Using maths to solve problems: choosing the equation for a story problem and using a known fact to work out a related one.

Tasks:

Problems

Sums

Maths area

Maths vocabulary

Understanding the words maths is taught in. Weak vocabulary can make maths harder even when number skills are secure.

Tasks:

Language

Context

Thinking skills

Working memory, processing speed and visual reasoning help explain why maths may be hard. They give context and aren’t part of the maths profile.

Tasks:

Memory

Numbers

Shapes

What your pupils will do

Fifteen short tasks

Each task has a friendly name and feels more like a game than a test.

Introduction video

Spoken instructions

Practice with feedback

Resume later

How a session starts

Talamo test screen: ‘Enter your code’ with an 8-character Login ID typed into the boxes, on the starry test background.

Pupils type their own 8‑character Login ID

Talamo test screen: a welcome card with the Talamo character that says ‘Hi Emily, when you’re ready, let’s go!’ above a Start button.

They press Start when they’re ready

Talamo test screen: three tiles to choose from, Skills (0 of 9 complete), Numbers (0 of 15, selected) and Focus (0 of 8), above a Start button.

They choose Numbers, the name pupils see for this assessment

Task by task

Grouped by the maths area each task feeds into. Each card shows the task’s name, its formal name where different, and what it measures. The processing-speed task is also called Numbers, the name pupils see for the whole assessment.

Number understanding

Maths area · 4 tasks

Number line

Numberline

Sees a number and moves a dot to where it belongs on a line.

Number understanding

Number line

Numberline

Sees a number and moves a dot to where it belongs on a line.

Number understanding

Size

Symbolic Magnitude

Sees two numbers and clicks the bigger one.

Number understanding

Size

Symbolic Magnitude

Sees two numbers and clicks the bigger one.

Number understanding

Ordering

Ordering Numbers

Drags a set of numbers into order from smallest to biggest.

Number understanding

Ordering

Ordering Numbers

Drags a set of numbers into order from smallest to biggest.

Number understanding

Writing numbers

Hears a number and types it.

Number understanding

Writing numbers

Hears a number and types it.

Number understanding

Number line
Numberline
Sees a number and moves a dot to where it belongs on a line.
Number understanding
Size
Symbolic Magnitude
Sees two numbers and clicks the bigger one.
Number understanding
Ordering
Ordering Numbers
Drags a set of numbers into order from smallest to biggest.
Number understanding
Writing numbers
Hears a number and types it.
Number understanding

Quantity understanding

Maths area · 2 tasks

Counting dots

Enumeration

Counts the dots on screen as quickly as possible and types the total.

Quantity understanding

Estimating

Subitising

Sees dots for two seconds, then types how many there were.

Quantity understanding

See what a finished report looks like

Each pupil’s results come back as one plain-English report, with next steps for school and home.

See inside a report

Counting dots
Enumeration
Counts the dots on screen as quickly as possible and types the total.
Quantity understanding
Estimating
Subitising
Sees dots for two seconds, then types how many there were.
Quantity understanding

Arithmetic fluency

Maths area · 3 tasks

Adding

Addition

Types answers to written additions. This task is timed.

Arithmetic fluency

Subtracting

Subtraction

Types answers to written subtractions. This task is timed.

Arithmetic fluency

Multiplying

Multiplication

Types answers to written multiplications. This task is timed.

Arithmetic fluency

Timed tasks

Adding, Subtracting and Multiplying are timed, so they show fluency as well as accuracy. Before any dyscalculia result, the rules check whether slow processing explains weak arithmetic.

Adding
Addition
Types answers to written additions. This task is timed.
Arithmetic fluency
Subtracting
Subtraction
Types answers to written subtractions. This task is timed.
Arithmetic fluency
Multiplying
Multiplication
Types answers to written multiplications. This task is timed.
Arithmetic fluency

Applying maths

Maths area · 2 tasks

Problems

Word Problems

Reads a short story problem and picks the equation that would solve it.

Applying maths

Sums

Derived Facts

Sees a solved calculation and uses it to solve a related one.

Applying maths

Problems
Word Problems
Reads a short story problem and picks the equation that would solve it.
Applying maths
Sums
Derived Facts
Sees a solved calculation and uses it to solve a related one.
Applying maths

Maths vocabulary

Maths area · 1 task

Language

Maths Language

Picks the picture that matches a maths term.

Maths vocabulary

Language

Maths Language

Picks the picture that matches a maths term.

Maths vocabulary

Why vocabulary matters

Maths vocabulary and word problems show whether difficulty comes through language. Weak language scores alongside secure number skills point away from dyscalculia.

Thinking skills

Cognitive context · 3 tasks

Memory

Numbers Reversed

Hears a string of numbers and types them backwards.

Working memory

Numbers

Number Pattern Matching

Scans a row of numbers and selects the ones that appear twice. This task is timed.

Processing speed

Shapes

Spatial Relations

Sees a large shape and clicks the smaller pieces that make it.

Visual reasoning

How the tasks are scored

Questions are scored without retries, and tasks run in a fixed order. Memory, Numbers and Shapes aren’t repeated if a pupil did them in another Talamo assessment in the last three months.

Memory
Numbers Reversed
Hears a string of numbers and types them backwards.
Working memory
Numbers
Number Pattern Matching
Scans a row of numbers and selects the ones that appear twice. This task is timed.
Processing speed
Shapes
Spatial Relations
Sees a large shape and clicks the smaller pieces that make it.
Visual reasoning

See what a finished report looks like

Each pupil’s results come back as one plain-English report, with next steps for school and home.

See inside a report

Questions are scored without retries, and tasks run in a fixed order. Memory, Numbers and Shapes are shared with other Talamo assessments, so a pupil who completed them in the last three months doesn’t repeat them.

Requirements

What you need to run it

Check these six things before the first session.

Laptop or desktop, with headphones

Every task opens with spoken instructions, so each pupil needs their own headphones.

Chrome browser (preferred)

The assessment runs online in the browser, at test.talamo.co.uk.

Keyboard and mouse or trackpad

Both are required. iPads can be used only with an attached keyboard.

A Login ID for each pupil

Pupils log in with their own Login ID, which is 8 characters long.

Sound on, Talamo not blocked

Browser audio must be on, and school filtering must not block Talamo domains.

Smaller groups for some pupils

Smaller groups or extra support help younger pupils, EAL learners and pupils with high needs.

Requirements

What you need to run it

Check these six things before the first session.

Laptop or desktop, with headphones

Every task opens with spoken instructions, so each pupil needs their own headphones.

Chrome browser (preferred)

The assessment runs online in the browser, at test.talamo.co.uk.

Keyboard and mouse or trackpad

Both are required. iPads can be used only with an attached keyboard.

A Login ID for each pupil

Pupils log in with their own Login ID, which is 8 characters long.

Sound on, Talamo not blocked

Browser audio must be on, and school filtering must not block Talamo domains.

Smaller groups for some pupils

Smaller groups or extra support help younger pupils, EAL learners and pupils with high needs.

Requirements

What you need to run it

Check these six things before the first session.

Laptop or desktop, with headphones

Every task opens with spoken instructions, so each pupil needs their own headphones.

Chrome browser (preferred)

The assessment runs online in the browser, at test.talamo.co.uk.

Keyboard and mouse or trackpad

Both are required. iPads can be used only with an attached keyboard.

A Login ID for each pupil

Pupils log in with their own Login ID, which is 8 characters long.

Sound on, Talamo not blocked

Browser audio must be on, and school filtering must not block Talamo domains.

Smaller groups for some pupils

Smaller groups or extra support help younger pupils, EAL learners and pupils with high needs.

Planning your first session?

Book a call with our team and we’ll talk it through with you.

Book a call

What you get

A maths profile for every pupil

Each pupil’s report leads with their maths profile, then explains their Level of Need and maths screening result in plain English, with support matched to their profile and year group.

How to support Logan
For subject teachers. Practical strategies for secondary lessons.
Draw or model the problem before calculating
Logan’s very low applying-maths score suggests visible problem-solving steps may help.
Help Logan show how the quantities in a word problem connect, using one familiar drawing, bar model or equation.
Check place value before using a number
Logan’s lower number-understanding score suggests place-value practice may help.
When Logan misreads a number, pause to identify the value of each digit.
Break tasks into a short visible sequence
Logan’s lower working-memory score suggests visible steps may help.
Put the stages of a multi-step problem beside Logan’s work, and ask him to record intermediate answers and mark progress.

How to support Logan
For subject teachers.
Model the problem first
His very low applying-maths score suggests visible steps may help.
Show how the quantities connect with one drawing, bar model or equation.
Check place value first
His lower number-understanding score suggests place-value practice may help.
When he misreads a number, pause on the value of each digit.

Inside Logan’s report

Use the arrows to look through four parts of Logan Roberts’ sample report. Logan is a fictional secondary pupil.

Results

His scores in the five maths areas and three thinking skills, compared with pupils of the same age.

Insights

His Level of Need and maths screening result, each explained in a few plain sentences.

Scores

Each standard score with its score rank, such as Low Average, and its percentile rank.

Each standard score with its score rank, such as Low Average.

How to support

Practical next steps matched to his profile and year group. Use the tabs to switch between the classroom, extra support and home.

See Logan’s full report (PDF)

Secondary indicator

Signs of dyscalculia

Within the maths profile, the report says whether the pattern of results shows signs consistent with dyscalculia. Other explanations, such as language, processing speed or low scores everywhere, are checked first.

No signs of dyscalculia

The profile doesn’t show the pattern associated with dyscalculia. Maths difficulty may still be present for other reasons, and the profile shows where.

Signs of dyscalculia

Below-average results are concentrated in the maths areas, in a pattern consistent with dyscalculia. Further investigation is worth considering; it isn’t a diagnosis.

Inconclusive

The results aren’t reliable enough to score, for example because several areas gave unusual results.

Inconclusive never means no signs. A retest is recommended.

Level of Need

How much support a pupil may need overall. It draws on every Talamo assessment they complete, so it becomes better grounded as they take more.

Low

Ordinary classroom teaching is enough.

Medium

Targeted support in one area.

High

Structured support across more than one area.

Very high

Intensive support; specialist involvement is worth considering.

Compare all three tests

Built into every report

Checked by a person

Every report is reviewed by Talamo before release, normally within 48 hours.

Unusual results flagged

A score far outside the typical range is flagged for review, not treated as a verdict. Check supervision, access needs and the device before arranging a retest.

Curated recommendations

Support ideas come from a curated library of strategies, selected by rules to fit each pupil’s profile.

Pupil data kept private

The AI model behind the indicator sees pseudonymised scores and context only, never a pupil’s name or other identifying details. Pupil data is stored in the UK.

Sample reports

Read the full sample reports

Two fictional pupils, both with signs of dyscalculia but very different profiles. Emily (primary) has very low number understanding but high visual reasoning. Logan (secondary) finds applying maths hardest, while maths vocabulary and processing speed are relative strengths. Both reports end with ideas for the classroom, extra support and home.

See Emily’s report (primary, PDF)

Emily’s report (primary, PDF)

See Logan’s report (secondary, PDF)

Logan’s report (secondary, PDF)

See all sample reports

Pages from Talamo’s sample Maths & Dyscalculia report for Emily Hargreaves, a fictional primary pupil: the cover and her maths results chart.

The evidence behind it

Developed in staged research with UK schools: a pilot, item refinement, then standardisation. The figures below come from our Maths Difficulty & Dyscalculia technical documentation (September 2026).

954

pupils aged 7 to 16, in 15 schools across England, make up the current norms. They are first-generation norms, and an update using a larger cohort is planned.

0.78–0.96

reliability for the twelve maths tasks in the final assessment, measured in the pilot (1.0 would mean perfectly consistent): an early, indicative estimate.

92%

exact agreement between the Level of Need rule and human reviewers on 200 benchmark profiles. A person still checks every report.

Built with Janet Goring

The maths tasks were built with Janet Goring, an expert in maths difficulties and dyscalculia. Fourteen were piloted with 333 pupils in 12 schools between November 2025 and April 2026, and twelve made the final assessment. Before launch, Janet reworked Sums to focus on applying known facts rather than following patterns.

Grounded in research

Number-line estimation and comparing numbers are among the most consistently replicated markers of dyscalculia, and difficulty recognising small amounts quickly is another. Numbers Reversed and Spatial Relations are adapted from the Woodcock-Johnson IV, developed in partnership with its publisher, Riverside Insights.

Read about our research

Want more technical detail? Ask us and we’ll share it.

Good to know

What screening can and can’t tell you

Screening gives you an evidence-based starting point. Read results alongside what you know from the classroom, attainment data and, where needed, specialist assessment.

A snapshot, not a diagnosis

Results describe signs consistent with dyscalculia, never a diagnosis. They show one point in time, not progress or response to intervention, and only a specialist assessment can confirm dyscalculia.

Pupils learning English

Weak maths vocabulary and word-problem scores alongside secure number skills suggest a language-based difficulty rather than dyscalculia. The rules check for this pattern, which matters especially for EAL learners.

Speed or number sense?

Slow processing can pull down the timed arithmetic tasks without any difficulty with number. The untimed number tasks help separate the two.

Low scores everywhere

Uniformly low scores across every area, including the thinking skills, fit general learning difficulty better than dyscalculia.

Some pupils with dyscalculia will be missed and some without it will be flagged; that’s true of any screening tool. Stay alert to classroom difficulties, whatever the result.