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Connections between Mathematics and Reading Development: Numerical Cognition Mediates Relations between Foundational Competencies and Later Academic Outcomes.

Mercedes SpencerLynn S FuchsDavid C GearyDouglas Fuchs
Published in: Journal of educational psychology (2021)
We examined longitudinal relations between 1 st -grade cognitive predictors (early nonverbal reasoning, processing speed, listening comprehension, working memory, calculation skill, word-problem solving, word-reading fluency, attentive behavior, and numerical cognition) and 2 nd -grade academic outcomes (calculations, word-problem solving, and word reading) in 370 children ( M age = 6.55 years, SD age = 0.33 years at the start of the study) who were identified as at-risk or not-at-risk for mathematics disability. Path analysis mediation models revealed that numerical cognition, assessed at an intermediary timepoint, mediated the effects of processing speed, working memory, calculation skill, word-problem solving, and attentive behavior on all 3 outcomes. Findings indicate that multiple early domain-general cognitive abilities are related to later mathematics and reading outcomes and that numerical cognition processes, which may track ease of forming symbol-concept associations, predict later performance across both academic domains.
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