Higher fit children show superior mathematics achievement but no reading or spelling advantage over lower fit children¶
Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associationalr2·q3
Currency · newest study 2015 · 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? Higher fit children scored higher on WRAT-3 arithmetic than lower fit children, with no fitness-group differences in reading or spelling. → Chaddock-Heyman L 2015
Evidence¶
Chaddock-Heyman L 2015¶
Chaddock-Heyman L, Erickson KI, Kienzler C, King M, Pontifex MB, Raine LB, Hillman CH, Kramer AF. (2015). The Role of Aerobic Fitness in Cortical Thickness and Mathematics Achievement in Preadolescent Children. PLoS ONE 10(8): e0134115. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0134115
q3 · i? · associational · r2
Independent t-tests compared WRAT-3 scores between the same 24 higher fit and 24 lower fit children. The study reports "higher fit children showed superior mathematics achievement compared to lower fit children (t (46) = 1.98, p = 0.05)", with no reading or spelling differences.
"Behaviorally, higher fit children showed superior mathematics achievement compared to lower fit children (t (46) = 1.98, p = 0.05) on the WRAT-3. No fitness differences were found for reading or spelling performance (t < 1.1, p>0.3)."
Discussion¶
Learner Variables¶
- Physical Well-Being — predictor: learners who differ on it differ in outcomes
Related Claims¶
- The authors propose aerobic fitness as a possible predictor of developmental cortical thinning and a pathway to enhanced cognition and scholastic performance — a broader claim this one bears on
- Cortical thinning in anterior and superior frontal cortex is associated with better arithmetic achievement across all children — related
- Higher fit preadolescent children show decreased cortical thickness in superior frontal, superior temporal, and lateral occipital cortex relative to lower fit children — related
- Cardiovascular fitness is positively associated with spelling but not with reading in primary school children — reports the opposite
- The authors hypothesize that brain-reading cortical thickness correlations are positive in early reading acquisition and negative at later, consolidated stages — related
- Cardiovascular fitness is positively associated with mathematics performance in primary school children regardless of socioeconomic status — related
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
claim |
id |
higher-fit-children-superior-arithmetic-no-reading-spelling-difference |
title |
Higher fit children show superior mathematics achievement but no reading or spelling advantage over lower fit children |
description |
Higher fit children show superior mathematics achievement but no reading or spelling advantage over lower fit children |
status |
review |
evidence_strength |
moderate |
newest_evidence |
2015 |
generated |
by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-10-17 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
1 — chaddock-heyman-l-2015 |
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