Murray, E. A. (1987). The relationship between spatial abilities and mathematics achievement in normal and learning disabled boys (Publication No. 8724729) [Doctoral dissertation, Boston University]. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global. https://www.proquest.com/docview/303564422

Boston University (Boston, MA); ProQuest document ID: 303564422

The tests were given under two conditions: Timed, Untimed. The test was further split into two types of presentation: two-dimensional, and three-dimensional.

Thirty students without identified disabilities from a private school in suburban Philadelphia, PA (U.S.) and 30 students with learning disabilities (LD) from a private special education school program in suburban Boston, MA (U.S.) participated. Students ranged in age from 12-14.  participated in the study. The students with LD were further divided into two groups: students with low achievement in both mathematics concepts and mathematics computation (17 students); students with average scores in both areas (13 students).

Students' performance on the JM Spatial Battery, which consists of seven visual-spatial tests, provided data for analysis; two composite scores measuring visualization and orientation were analyzed. Students' scores on the Stanford Achievement Test, measuring mathematics concepts and computation skills, as well as reading comprehension, were also analyzed. Intelligence test scores, derived from the WISC-R or the Stanford-Binet, were also considered in the analyses.

When time was not a factor in spatial testing, boys without LD and boys with LD with average mathematics achievement performed better on tests of visualization and two-dimensional tests than did boys with LD with low scores in mathematics achievement. There were no significant ''between group'' differences for these scores under timed conditions. There were also no significant differences among the groups on tests of orientation or on three-dimensional tests under timed or untimed conditions.