Domain-general factors account for more variance in written arithmetic and word problems than in basic calculation fluency¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r3 · q3
Currency · newest study 2014 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

Reading the evidence codes

q is the design tier, i the impact, n the sample, and the kind with its r the rigour judged within that kind: what each code means.

This claim: no standardized effect is recorded in observations/ for it yet, so no benchmark reading is possible.

q3 i? Domain-general factors accounted for 43% of variance in written arithmetic and even more in word problems, compared to 36% in basic calculation fluency, when entered first. → Cowan 2014

Evidence¶

Cowan 2014¶

Cowan, R., & Powell, D. (2014). The Contributions of Domain-General and Numerical Factors to Third-Grade Arithmetic Skills and Mathematical Learning Disability. Journal of Educational Psychology, 106(1), 214-229. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0034097

q3 · i? · associational · r3

Fixed-order regression analyses across three arithmetic outcomes in 258 third graders. The proportion of variance accounted for by domain-general factors when entered first increased from basic calculation fluency to written arithmetic to word problems.

"Domain-general factors account for more variation in written arithmetic (43%) than in basic calculation fluency (36%)."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

Operations and Place Value — outcome: instruction changes it

Different domain-general factors uniquely account for variation in different arithmetic skills — related
Previous domain knowledge accounts for most of the variance in later achievement, considerably reducing the predictive impact of IQ and WM — a broader claim this one bears on

Page metadata

Field	Value
`type`	`claim`
`id`	`domain-general-variance-varies-by-skill`
`title`	`Domain-general factors account for more variance in written arithmetic and word problems than in basic calculation fluency`
`description`	`Domain-general factors account for more variance in written arithmetic and word problems than in basic calculation fluency`
`status`	`review`
`evidence_strength`	`moderate`
`newest_evidence`	`2014`
`generated`	by `process:wiki-ingest` on `2026-10-24`
`trust`	unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content
`sources`	1 — `cowan-2014`

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