Math skills show the opposite two-stage pattern: no individual differences in early growth but significant individual differences in late elementary growth for two of three measures¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · associational r2 · q3
Currency · newest study 2021 · 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? Slope variance was not significant for TEMA-early math ability in K-2 or Applied Problems in grades 3-5, indicating no inter-individual differences in growth rates on these measures. → Little 2021 q3 i? Slope variance estimates for math fluency and calculation were significant in grades 3 through 5, indicating individual differences in growth rates on these measures. → Little 2021 (2)

Evidence¶

Little 2021¶

Little, C. W., Lonigan, C. J., & Phillips, B. M. (2021). Differential Patterns of Growth in Reading and Math Skills during Elementary School. Journal of Educational Psychology, 113(3), 462-476. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000635

q3 · i? · associational · r2

Latent-growth-curve models of math outcomes in the same 921-child longitudinal sample, estimated separately for K-2 (TEMA) and grades 3-5 (WJ-III subtests) because measures changed across grades. The study reports non-significant slope variances for these two measures; no effect size was printed.

"Values for slope variance were not significant for the TEMA-early math ability in kindergarten through grade 2 or for Applied Problems in grade 3 to grade 5, which indicated that although scores increased on the measures over time, there were no inter-individual differences in the rate of growth on these measures"

Little 2021 (2)¶

q3 · i? · associational · r2

Same latent-growth-curve analysis of WJ-III math subtests in grades 3-5. The study reports significant slope variances for Math Fluency and Calculation, indicating inter-individual differences in growth; no effect size was printed.

"In contrast, the slope variance estimates for math fluency and calculation were significant in grade 3 through grade 5, indicating that there were individual differences in the rate of growth on these measures"

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

Operations and Place Value — outcome: instruction changes it

Page metadata

Field	Value
`type`	`claim`
`id`	`math-growth-individual-differences-late-not-early-elementary`
`title`	`Math skills show the opposite two-stage pattern: no individual differences in early growth but significant individual differences in late elementary growth for two of three measures`
`description`	`Math skills show the opposite two-stage pattern: no individual differences in early growth but significant individual differences in late elementary growth for two of three measures`
`status`	`review`
`evidence_strength`	`moderate`
`newest_evidence`	`2021`
`generated`	by `process:wiki-ingest` on `2026-10-24`
`trust`	unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content
`sources`	2 — `little-2021`, `little-2021-2`

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