The point of the study is that they should be using calculators to answer their questions rather than spending an inordinate amount of time on manual calculations that don't further their education and cause them to lose interest in the subject.

>don't further their education and cause them to lose interest in the subject.

Yes, that's my issue. The study is focused on grades and I'm more concerned about deeper logical thinking. You don't get the latter without some friction, and that let's you build up for skills needed in high school and beyond.

The mechanical ability of typing 1+1 into a calculator isn't my concern. It's the ability to know why you're typing 1+1 in as an intermediate step in solving real problems.