Inference-based instruction and teacher–student conflict were more strongly associated with math achievement and growth for children with low early math skills (a three-way interaction in observational data)¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r2 · q2 · n=587 children (low early skill group n = 71)
Currency · newest study 2010 · checked against its sources 2026-10-23 (automated, 1 of 1 entry) · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? In observational longitudinal data, the three-way interaction among teacher–student conflict, inference instruction, and early skill group was statistically significant: inference instruction and conflict predicted math achievement more strongly for the low early skill group, an association that cannot show cause. → Crosnoe 2010

Evidence¶

Crosnoe 2010¶

Crosnoe, R., Morrison, F., Burchinal, M., Pianta, R., Keating, D., Friedman, S. L., Clarke-Stewart, K. A., & the NICHD Early Child Care Research Network. (2010). Instruction, teacher–student relations, and math achievement trajectories in elementary school. Journal of Educational Psychology, 102(2), 407–417. doi:10.1037/a0017762

q2 · observational longitudinal study with controls · i? · no standardized effect size for the interaction · n=587 children (low early skill group n = 71) · associational · r2

Repeated-measures hierarchical linear models of NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development data on 587 children whose third- or fifth-grade classrooms were observed. Model 2 crossed classroom instruction and teacher–student relations with age and early skill group. The three-way interaction among teacher–student conflict, inference instruction and early skill group was statistically significant (F = 3.20, p < .05; unstandardized B = .10 for the low early skill group). In graphs of the model's predictions, low early skill children in classrooms with more inference instruction and low conflict had higher math achievement and faster gains than low early skill peers with less inference instruction or high conflict. The interaction is significant, but no standardized effect size is printed for it, so impact is coded i? (not reported, which is not the same as no effect). The authors note these leveling effects "were not large in magnitude" and that, because the data are observational, they "cannot establish causality".

"The three-way interaction among teacher–student conflict, inference instruction, and early skill group was statistically significant (F = 3.20, p < .05, with B = .10, p < .05, for low early skill group)."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Social Awareness and Relationship Skills — moderator: an instructional effect differs with it

Related Claims¶

• Low early skill children in high-inference classrooms with low teacher–student conflict showed higher math achievement and faster gains than low-skill peers in low-inference or high-conflict classrooms — possibly the same claim (merge candidate)
• Preschool executive function positively predicts kindergarten math on both measures, while teacher–child relationship quality shows only a trend-level main effect on ECLS-K Math and none on Applied Problems — related
• For children with low preschool math ability, higher executive function and more positive teacher relationships are associated with higher-than-expected kindergarten math, with the preschool–kindergarten association stronger among children low in these moderators — related
• Quality of the kindergarten teacher–child relationship moderates the preschool-to-kindergarten development of math ability on the ECLS-K Math battery but not the Applied Problems subtest — related
• Children's executive function at the beginning of pre-kindergarten predicts growth in mathematics achievement across the pre-kindergarten year — related
• Low early skill children received more basic skills instruction and experienced more teacher conflict than their more skilled peers — related