Previous domain knowledge accounts for most of the variance in later achievement, considerably reducing the predictive impact of IQ and WM¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · associational r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2017 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? In more comprehensive regression and SEM models, preceding domain knowledge accounted for most of the variance in achievement, reducing the impact of IQ and WM considerably. → Schneider Wolfgang 2017 (2) q2 i? In the SEM models, individual differences in IQ and WM no longer played a significant role in predicting subsequent academic performance once previous domain knowledge was estimated. → Schneider Wolfgang 2017 (2)

Evidence¶

Schneider Wolfgang 2017¶

Schneider Wolfgang, Niklas Frank. (2017). Intelligence and Verbal Short-Term Memory/Working Memory: Their Interrelationships from Childhood to Young Adulthood and Their Impact on Academic Achievement. Journal of Intelligence. https://doi.org/10.3390/jintelligence5020026

q2 · i? · associational · r2

Regression and SEM analyses of the LOGIC sample in which preceding achievement in reading, spelling, and math was entered before IQ and WMC. The article reports domain knowledge "accounted for most of the variance in more comprehensive regression models".

"The latter variable accounted for most of the variance in more comprehensive regression models, reducing the impact of both IQ and WM considerably."

Schneider Wolfgang 2017 (2)¶

Schneider Wolfgang, Niklas Frank. (2017). Intelligence and Verbal Short-Term Memory/Working Memory: Their Interrelationships from Childhood to Young Adulthood and Their Impact on Academic Achievement. Journal of Intelligence. https://doi.org/10.3390/jintelligence5020026

q2 · i? · associational · r2

SEM models including academic precursors (Figures 3 and 4) showed spelling and math at ages 8/10 predicted spelling and math at ages 18/23; the article concludes IQ and WM "no longer played a significant role" once domain knowledge was estimated.

"Most notably, however, we found that individual differences in IQ and WM no longer played a significant role in the prediction of subsequent academic performance when the impact of previous domain knowledge was additionally estimated in the SEM models."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Preschool working memory–flexibility predicts later math achievement, especially in Grade 3 — related
• Predictive weights of IQ, memory and study habits do not differ significantly between 3rd and 4th grade — related
• QNC Level I predicts QNC Level II/III, which in turn predicts Grade 3 mathematics achievement; QNC Level I also retains a direct path to Grade 3 math — related
• Cascade models in which IQ mediates the WM-to-achievement path fit comparably to, but not significantly better than, the original correlated models — related
• IQ and working memory are reliable predictors of academic achievement at the beginning of school when domain knowledge is not controlled — related
• When previous academic achievement is controlled, intelligence predicts only later reading comprehension and age-10 mathematics, and WMC predicts nothing additionally — related
• Non-verbal intelligence measures (Raven, WISC Block Design) are non-significant math predictors when well-specified spatial and memory measures are in the model — related
• Kindergarten visual processing uniquely predicts grade-one early mathematics after controlling for prior mathematics and general cognitive abilities — related
• Full-scale IQ predicts reading comprehension more strongly than word reading, and working memory and processing speed remain significant predictors after IQ is controlled — related
• IQ, short-term memory and study habits each correlate positively and significantly with academic achievement in both 3rd and 4th grade — related
• Phonological awareness has no direct effect on higher-order QNC (Level II and above) or Grade 3 math achievement once QNC skills are modeled, confirming the isolated number-words hypothesis — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Visual-spatial working memory predicts higher-order QNC (Level II/III) but not basic numerical skills, and is linked to Grade 3 math only indirectly — related
• In latent-variable SEM models, intelligence — not working memory — is the significant direct predictor of academic outcomes in both childhood and early adulthood — related
• Grade level, nonverbal intelligence, and working memory predicted mathematics achievement, explaining 88% of intercept variance but only 16-22% of slope variance — related
• The core predictors of seventh-grade word reading achievement differ from those predicting seventh-grade mathematics achievement — related
• Domain-general factors account for more variance in written arithmetic and word problems than in basic calculation fluency — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• The central executive component of working memory is the most important domain-general predictor of later-grade mathematics achievement — related
• The overall importance of prior domain-specific mathematical knowledge for subsequent mathematics achievement increases across grades — related
• A combination of specific mathematical cognition measures predicts subsequent mathematics achievement better than prior mathematics achievement scores alone — related
• Domain-general abilities are more important than domain-specific knowledge for mathematics learning in early grades, but the two are equally important in later grades — related
• Fractions knowledge is a critical domain-specific predictor of mathematics achievement in later grades — a narrower finding that bears on this claim