Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 5, 2026
10:58
Multimedia Battery for Assessment of Cognitive and Basic Skills in Mathematics (BM-PROMA)
Published on: August 28, 2021
Cognitive-Mathematics Relations: A Meta-Analysis of Norm-Referenced Standardized Test Batteries
Christopher R Niileksela1, Daniel B Hajovsky2, Francisco Philippe Cocar-Montenegro1
1Department of Educational Psychology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045, USA.
Journal of Intelligence
|July 27, 2026
Summary
Cognitive abilities like fluid reasoning and comprehension-knowledge are key predictors of math skills. Foundational math abilities also predict advanced skills, offering insights into math development and learning difficulties.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Educational Psychology
- Psychometrics
Background:
- Understanding the cognitive underpinnings of mathematics skills is crucial for addressing learning difficulties.
- Meta-analyses are valuable tools for synthesizing research on cognitive-mathematics relationships.
Purpose of the Study:
- To summarize cognitive-mathematics relations using meta-analysis.
- To model the integrated relationships between cognitive abilities and mathematics skills.
- To identify key cognitive predictors of mathematics achievement.
Main Methods:
- Compiled data from 122 norm-referenced standardized test batteries.
- Analyzed over 47,000 correlations from more than 550 correlation matrices.
- Utilized meta-analysis to estimate cognitive-mathematics relations.
Main Results:
- Fluid reasoning and comprehension-knowledge were significant predictors of mathematics skills.
- Foundational mathematics skills predicted advanced mathematics skills.
- Narrow cognitive abilities, including general knowledge and sequential reasoning, also predicted mathematics skills.
Conclusions:
- This meta-analysis clarifies how cognitive abilities predict mathematics skills.
- Results inform theoretical models of mathematics development.
- Findings can guide practical strategies for assessing individuals with math difficulties.
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