Computational Estimation Skill of College Students

We examined computational estimation skill of 77 college students who estimated answers to problems presented in brief intervals. We categorized 23 "think-aloud" estimation strategies used by 45 participants in individual follow-up sessions. Some categories were based on strategies found in previous studies others were based on responses in this study. Although students correctly estimated answers to most problems on addition and subtraction of whole numbers, they performed poorly on multiplication and division of decimals and subtraction of fractions. Students were more successful in solving computational problems than in estimating answers. Scores on the estimation tests showed substantial correlation with SAT Mathematics scores and with a direct measure of computational skill, but they did not significantly correlate with SAT Verbal scores.