Are there directional longitudinal associations between school reading and mathematics achievement?

Authors

William L Coventry, Alison Lobbe, Sally A Larsen, Anne Pead, Glen van der Vyver

Published in

The British journal of developmental psychology. Oct 21, 2026. Epub Oct 21, 2026.

Abstract

Conflicting claims exist in the literature on the direction of the effects between reading and mathematics. This study used the random intercept cross-lagged panel model (RI-CLPM) in a larger sample to assess directional associations across grades 3, 5, 7 and 9 using longitudinal data of the National Assessment Program of Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN). The population data comprised all 87,610 New South Wales school students in grade 3 of 2012. The RI-CLPMs showed large positive directional effects from reading to subsequent mathematics in primary school and the start of secondary school (grades 3 to 5 and 5 to 7). Also, between grades 3 and 5, the models showed large positive directional effects in the opposite direction, mathematics to subsequent reading. The longitudinal studies reviewed show heterogeneity.

PMID:
42904593
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 23 Oct 2026.

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