Spatial ability scores are positively associated with mathematics performance across children and adults, as the review reports¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · review r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2024 · 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.

q2 i? The review reports that scores on tests of spatial cognition are significantly positively correlated with PISA mathematics scores, and that spatial skills predict mathematics performance in children and adults. → Kelsey E. Schenck 2024

Evidence¶

Kelsey E. Schenck 2024¶

Kelsey E. Schenck, Mitchell J. Nathan. (2024). Navigating Spatial Ability for Mathematics Education: a Review and Roadmap. Educational Psychology Review. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-024-09935-5

q2 · i? · review · r2

Narrative review attributing this to Sorby and Panther (2020): PISA mathematics scores were significantly positively correlated with spatial cognition test scores. The review also cites early spatial scores predicting later mathematics reasoning. No effect size is printed.

"scores on the mathematics portion of the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) are significantly positively correlated with scores on tests of spatial cognition (Sorby & Panther, 2020)."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

Spatial Ability — predictor: learners who differ on it differ in outcomes

Effects of two-dimensional mental rotation training on children's mathematics performance are mixed, with significant correlations between rotation and mathematics measures — related
Spatial assembly skill measured at age 3 (TOSA) strongly correlates with mathematics performance one year later at age 4 — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
Block Play Predicts Math Achievement — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
Mathematics achievement correlates more strongly with learners' knowledge, skills and cognitive abilities than with their personality traits, goals or emotions — a broader claim this one bears on
Executive function and spatial skills jointly predict 70% of the variance in age-4 mathematics performance without an explicit number-knowledge measure — related
Spatial ability correlates with educational performance across many STEM disciplines and sub-disciplines — a broader claim this one bears on
Spatial skills uniquely predict 27% of the variance in preschool mathematics over and above executive function — a narrower finding that bears on this claim

Page metadata

Field	Value
`type`	`claim`
`id`	`spatial-ability-associated-mathematics-performance`
`title`	`Spatial ability scores are positively associated with mathematics performance across children and adults, as the review reports`
`description`	`Spatial ability scores are positively associated with mathematics performance across children and adults, as the review reports`
`status`	`review`
`evidence_strength`	`weak`
`newest_evidence`	`2024`
`generated`	by `process:wiki-ingest` on `2026-10-22`
`trust`	unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content
`sources`	1 — `kelsey-e-schenck-2024`

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