Higher education polygenic scores predict persistence in mathematics coursetaking across four years of secondary school, robust to SES covariates, prior tracking, and school fixed effects¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · associational r3 · q3
Currency · newest study 2020 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i? Students with higher education-PGS took more advancing steps in math (b = 0.139), with only modest attenuation after SES covariates and in school fixed-effects models. → K. Paige Harden 2020 q3 i? After controlling for 9th-grade course placement, the education-PGS remained associated with persistence, while students tracked below Algebra 1 persisted less than those in Algebra 1. → K. Paige Harden 2020 (2)

Evidence¶

K. Paige Harden 2020¶

K. Paige Harden, Benjamin W. Domingue, Daniel W. Belsky, Jason D. Boardman, Robert Crosnoe, Margherita Malanchini, Michel Nivard, Elliot M. Tucker-Drob and Kathleen Mullan Harris. (2020). Genetic associations with mathematics tracking and persistence in secondary school. npj Science of Learning. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41539-020-0060-2

q3 · i? · associational · r3

Poisson regression of number of advancing steps (0-3) on education-PGS in the Add Health transcript sample, reported in Results. The association was "only modestly attenuated" after family- and school-SES covariates (b = 0.096), and school fixed-effects models also showed higher-PGS students took more advancing steps than schoolmates (b = 0.117).

"Students with higher education-PGS took more advancing steps (Fig. 1b; b = 0.139, SE = 0.011, 95% CI = [0.117, 0.159]); Supplementary Table 4)."

K. Paige Harden 2020 (2)¶

K. Paige Harden, Benjamin W. Domingue, Daniel W. Belsky, Jason D. Boardman, Robert Crosnoe, Margherita Malanchini, Michel Nivard, Elliot M. Tucker-Drob and Kathleen Mullan Harris. (2020). Genetic associations with mathematics tracking and persistence in secondary school. npj Science of Learning. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41539-020-0060-2

q3 · i? · associational · r3

Covariate model reported in Results: students tracked below Algebra 1 in 9th grade persisted less than those in Algebra 1, whereas students in Geometry or higher did not differ from Algebra 1 students (b = −0.059, CI including 0). Controlling for tracking, the education-PGS remained associated with persistence (b = 0.087).

"Students who were tracked to Pre-Algebra or lower in the 9th-grade persisted less in math than those in Algebra 1 ( b = −0.221, SE = 0.038, 95% CI = [−0.293, −0.147])."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• School socioeconomic advantage buffers low-polygenic-score students from dropping out of math: the PGS-by-school-SES interaction on persistence is significant and negative — related
• School SES and education-PGS each predicted completing Calculus without a significant interaction, and even top-2% polygenic-score students rarely took Calculus — related
• Higher education polygenic scores predict placement into more advanced 9th-grade math courses, robust to family SES, school SES, and school fixed effects — related
• Education polygenic scores predict year-to-year math enrollment above and beyond prior-year math GPA, family SES, and school SES — possibly the same claim (merge candidate)
• Children in higher SES families have higher average polygenic scores for educational attainment — related