The association between early reading skills and changes in mathematics was examined in a large, low-income sample to determine whether students who have a greater level of reading skills in early elementary school exhibit more rapid gains in tests of mathematics. The longitudinal associations between third grade reading comprehension and changes in three components of mathematics achievement (Problem Solving and Data Interpretation, Mathematical Concepts and Estimation, Mathematical Computation) from third through eighth grade were examined. Latent growth models were fit to the repeated assessments of each mathematics component and the students' third grade reading and global mathematics scores were included as predictors of the intercept and slope. Gender, poverty status, and ethnicity were included in the models as control variables. The results showed males and African-American students tended to have shallower rates of change than females and non-African-American/non-Hispanic students. In terms of the effect of reading on changes in mathematics, third grade reading comprehension was found to be a positive significant predictor of change for each component of mathematics, suggesting students with a greater level of reading achievement in early elementary school change more rapidly in mathematics skills controlling for prior mathematics skills and student characteristics. The largest effects were shown for the Problem Solving and Data Interpretation test, a test focused on the applications of mathematics knowledge, and the Mathematical Concepts and Estimation test. Negligible effects were found for changes in Mathematical Computation. Thus, early reading comprehension was shown to be related to a conceptual understanding of mathematics and the application of mathematics knowledge. These findings lend support for the notion that early reading skills are important for success in mathematics.

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阅读与数学成绩的纵向关联

在一个大型低收入样本中检查了早期阅读技能与数学变化之间的关联，以确定在小学早期阅读技能水平更高的学生是否在数学考试中表现出更快的进步。研究了三年级阅读理解与数学成绩的三个组成部分（问题解决和数据解释、数学概念和估计、数学计算）从三年级到八年级的变化之间的纵向关联。潜在增长模型适用于每个数学部分的重复评估，学生的三年级阅读和全球数学分数被纳入作为截距和斜率的预测因子。性别、贫困状况和种族作为控制变量包含在模型中。结果显示，男性和非裔美国学生的变化率往往比女性和非非裔美国人/非西班牙裔学生的变化率要小。在阅读对数学变化的影响方面，发现三年级阅读理解是数学各组成部分变化的显着正向预测因子，表明小学早期阅读成绩较高的学生在数学方面的变化更快控制先前数学技能和学生特征的技能。最大的影响表现在问题解决和数据解释测试中，该测试侧重于数学知识的应用，以及数学概念和估计测试。发现数学计算变化的影响可以忽略不计。因此，早期阅读理解被证明与对数学的概念理解和数学知识的应用有关。这些发现支持了早期阅读技能对数学成功很重要的观点。