The Effect of Phonological Ability on Math is Modulated by Socioeconomic Status in Elementary School

Math achievement is affected by social factors such as socioeconomic status (SES) and domain-general cognitive factors such as phonological ability. Little is known how the effects of cognitive factors change depending on social factors during development. This study focuses on the estimation of the effect of phonological ability on math achievement during the first year of schooling and testing the hypothesis that this effect varied depending on students SES. To achieve our aims we used two-wave longitudinal study which was conducted on large sample of first-graders (N= 2,948) in the Tatar Republic (Russia). Participants were assessed twice, at the beginning and at the end of the first grade (mean age was 7.3 years at Time 1). The item response theory (IRT) scaling procedure was used to estimate individual scores in math, number identification, phonology and reading. In order to estimate the effect of phonological ability and SES on math performance, mixed-effect longitudinal models were applied. The results revealed that phonological ability had a significant positive effect on math achievement even when reading achievement, number identification and SES were controlled for. Among SES dimensions only maternal education had an effect on math achievement and its improvement. The effect of phonological ability was higher for students with a larger number of books at home and who used more than one language at home