Economic disadvantage is associated with lower performance on most early numeracy and EF measures¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · causal r2–r3 · q3 · i2–i3
Currency · newest study 2025 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i2 EYPP eligibility had a significant main effect on all mathematics variables except Count High and Order Processing, with disadvantaged children scoring lower (e.g., EYTN Hedge's g = 0.77). → Scerif 2025 q3 i3 EYPP eligibility had a significant main effect on all EF variables except Rabbits and Boats, with disadvantaged children scoring lower (e.g., Corsi Blocks Hedge's g = 0.80). → Scerif 2025 (2)

Evidence¶

Scerif 2025¶

Scerif, G., Sučević, J., Andrews, H., Blakey, E., Gattas, S. U., Godfrey, A., et al. (2025). Enhancing children's numeracy and executive functions via their explicit integration. npj Science of Learning 10, 8. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41539-025-00302-9

q3 · i2 · causal · r3

Main effects of disadvantage from the cluster RCT's multilevel models; the table reports e.g. Hedge's g = 0.77 for EYTN, 0.49 for Give N, 0.63 for BAS-PC.

"EYPP eligibility had a signi ficant main effect on all mathematics variables except for Count High and Order Processing. For all main effects, children who grew up at a disadvantage (eligible for EYPP) had signi ficantly lower scores compared to non-EYPP-eligible children."

Scerif 2025 (2)¶

Scerif, G., Sučević, J., Andrews, H., Blakey, E., Gattas, S. U., Godfrey, A., et al. (2025). Enhancing children's numeracy and executive functions via their explicit integration. npj Science of Learning 10, 8. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41539-025-00302-9

q3 · i3 · causal · r2

Main effects of disadvantage on EF measures in the same trial; the table reports e.g. Hedge's g = 0.80 for Corsi Blocks and 0.70 for the EF latent factor.

"EYPP eligibility had a signi ficant main effect on all EF variables, except for Rabbits and Boats. For all main effects, children who grew up at a disadvantage (eligible for EYPP) had significantly lower scores compared to EYPP-not-eligible children"

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Socioeconomic Status — predictor: outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause

Related Claims¶

• Disadvantaged (EYPP-eligible) children in the integrated intervention gained more in numeracy and spatial skills than disadvantaged controls — related
• Higher-SES preschoolers outperform lower-SES peers on math, spatial, EF, and vocabulary measures, except the Tap Test where the difference is a non-significant trend — related
• Disadvantaged children in the integrated intervention improved more on executive function measures than disadvantaged controls — related