Language Predictors of Word-Problem Performance among Third-Grade Students with Mathematics Difficulty
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| Title: | Language Predictors of Word-Problem Performance among Third-Grade Students with Mathematics Difficulty |
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| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Danielle O. Lariviere (ORCID |
| Source: | Journal of Learning Disabilities. 2025 58(6):445-458. |
| Availability: | SAGE Publications and Hammill Institute on Disabilities. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://sagepub.com |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 14 |
| Publication Date: | 2025 |
| Sponsoring Agency: | Institute of Education Sciences (ED) |
| Contract Number: | R324A150078 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Education Level: | Early Childhood Education Elementary Education Grade 3 Primary Education |
| Descriptors: | Language Skills, Word Problems (Mathematics), Grade 3, Elementary School Students, Predictor Variables, Learning Problems, Reading Comprehension, Vocabulary, Reading Skills, Accuracy, English Learners, Bilingual Students, Computation |
| Geographic Terms: | Texas |
| Assessment and Survey Identifiers: | Wide Range Achievement Test, Woodcock Johnson Tests of Achievement, Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence, Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System (TELPAS) |
| DOI: | 10.1177/00222194241311979 |
| ISSN: | 0022-2194 1538-4780 |
| Abstract: | We examined how generalized and mathematics-specific language skills predicted the word-problem performance of students with mathematics difficulty. Participants were 325 third-grade students in the southwestern United States who performed at or below the 25th percentile on a word-problem measure. We assessed generalized language skills in word reading, passage comprehension, and vocabulary knowledge. In addition, we measured mathematics-specific vocabulary knowledge. To explore variation within the mathematics-difficulty population, we utilized unconditional quantile regression to determine how each of these skill sets predicted word-problem performance when controlling for computation and emergent bilingual status. Results revealed that mathematics-vocabulary knowledge significantly predicted word-problem performance at all but two quantiles (p < 0.001), with strongest predictive relations at the highest quantiles. Passage comprehension had an overall significant relation to word-problem performance (p < 0.05) that was also reflected in multiple quantiles. Neither word-reading accuracy nor generalized-vocabulary knowledge demonstrated a significant predictive relation to word-problem performance. Given the consistent relation between mathematics-vocabulary knowledge and word-problem performance across quantiles, researchers and practitioners should prioritize evidence-based mathematics-vocabulary instruction to support students' word-problem-solving skills. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| IES Funded: | Yes |
| Entry Date: | 2025 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1488652 |
| Database: | ERIC |
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| Abstract: | We examined how generalized and mathematics-specific language skills predicted the word-problem performance of students with mathematics difficulty. Participants were 325 third-grade students in the southwestern United States who performed at or below the 25th percentile on a word-problem measure. We assessed generalized language skills in word reading, passage comprehension, and vocabulary knowledge. In addition, we measured mathematics-specific vocabulary knowledge. To explore variation within the mathematics-difficulty population, we utilized unconditional quantile regression to determine how each of these skill sets predicted word-problem performance when controlling for computation and emergent bilingual status. Results revealed that mathematics-vocabulary knowledge significantly predicted word-problem performance at all but two quantiles (p < 0.001), with strongest predictive relations at the highest quantiles. Passage comprehension had an overall significant relation to word-problem performance (p < 0.05) that was also reflected in multiple quantiles. Neither word-reading accuracy nor generalized-vocabulary knowledge demonstrated a significant predictive relation to word-problem performance. Given the consistent relation between mathematics-vocabulary knowledge and word-problem performance across quantiles, researchers and practitioners should prioritize evidence-based mathematics-vocabulary instruction to support students' word-problem-solving skills. |
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| ISSN: | 0022-2194 1538-4780 |
| DOI: | 10.1177/00222194241311979 |
