This study investigates the extent to which pre-service elementary teachers (PETs) use their realworld knowledge to solve problems for which the result of the arithmetic operation is problematic, if one takes into consideration the reality of the context. A paper-and-pencil test was administered to 566 PETs enrolled in mathematics content courses. The test included 8 experimental items and 4 buffer items. The findings for a sample of 68 PETs are not very encouraging. The total number of realistic responses varied from 5 to 58 (out of 68 possible for each problem). [For the complete proceedings, see ED585874.]