Math anxiety is a common affective disorder in students that is characterized by intrusive thoughts that disrupt critical cognitive resources required for math problem-solving. Consistent associations between math anxiety and math achievement have been observed across countries and age groups, placing math anxiety among other important correlates of math achievement, such as socioeconomic status and magnitude representation ability. However, studies examining math anxiety’s relation to achievement have largely focused on the effect of students’ own math anxiety (individual effect), while little is known regarding the effect of math anxiety in students’ educational context (contextual effect). Using three international studies of achievement (n = 1,175,515), we estimated both the individual and contextual effects of math anxiety across the globe. Results suggest that while there are consistent individual effects in virtually all countries examined, the contextual effects are varied, with only approximately half of the countries exhibiting a contextual effect. Additionally, we reveal that teacher confidence in teaching math is associated with a reduction of the individual effect, and country’s level of uncertainty avoidance is related to a lessening of the contextual effect. Finally, we uncovered multiple predictors of math anxiety; notably, student perception of teacher competence was negative related with math anxiety, and parental homework involvement was positively related with math anxiety. Taken together, these results suggest that there are significant between-country differences in how math anxiety may be related with math achievement and suggest that education and cultural contexts as important considerations in understanding math anxiety’s effects on achievement. Significance Using three large-scale international assessments of student achievement, the current study examined the antecedents of math anxiety and the relation between math anxiety and math achievement across the globe. Results suggest that individual math anxiety is negatively associated with math achievement across the globe. Importantly, we uncovered a contextual effect of math anxiety where the level of math anxiety in one’s educational peer group predicts math achievement above and beyond what could be predicted by one’s own math anxiety. Further, there is significant between-country variability in this contextual effect—only half of the examined countries’ contextual effect was statistically significant. Our results reveal an effect of educational peer’s math anxiety on math achievement and reinforce extant research findings.

Research has shown that two different, though related, ways of representing magnitude play foundational roles in the development of numerical and mathematical skills: a nonverbal approximate number system and an exact symbolic number system. While there have been numerous studies suggesting that the two systems are important predictors of math achievement, there has been substantial debate regarding whether and how these basic numerical competencies may be developmentally interrelated. Specifically, the causal direction of their relation has been the subject of debate: whether children's approximate number abilities predict later symbolic number abilities (the mapping account) or the other way around (the refinement account). Our sample included 622 kindergarten children (mean age = 62 months, SD = 3.5, 279 females, 75 born outside Canada), whose dot comparison, number comparison, and mixed comparison skills were assessed over three time-points and math achievement assessed over four time-points. We contrasted multiple theoretical predictions of the interrelations between the variables of interest posited by these two developmental accounts using longitudinal random intercept cross-lagged models. Results were most consistent with the refinement account, suggesting that earlier symbolic number ability is consistently the strongest predictor of approximate number ability, mixed-comparison ability, and arithmetic skills. Notably, our results demonstrated that, when individual models are examined in isolation, model fit was adequate or near adequate for all models tested. This highlights the need for future research to contrast competing accounts, as our results suggest the examination of any one account in isolation may not reveal the best fitting developmental model. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Magnitude processing and executive functions (EFs) have emerged as robust predictors of mathematics achievement. However, the nature of these associations is still unclear. For example, it is uncertain if EFs applied in the context of domain-specific mathematical cognition (i.e., EFs applied while processing numbers) are more closely related to mathematics achievement than EFs applied in nonnumerical, domain-general contexts. Also, how distinct EF domains-that is, working memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility-and contents-that is, numerical versus nonnumerical-moderate the association between magnitude processing and mathematics achievement has not been fully understood. To address these issues, we investigated how magnitude processing, EFs applied to nonnumerical and numerical task stimuli, and their interactions were associated with mathematics achievement. Three hundred fifty-nine Brazilian third- to fifth-grade (8-10 years old) students completed measures of working memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility with numerical and nonnumerical task versions, nonsymbolic and symbolic magnitude comparison, and mathematics achievement. A series of regression models indicated that nonsymbolic and symbolic magnitude processing are consistently associated with mathematics achievement, even when controlling for working memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility measured with both numerical and nonnumerical contents. All EF measures were associated with mathematics achievement. However, cognitive flexibility measured with numerical content showed the strongest association. Results support the hypothesis that magnitude processing and EFs are uniquely associated with mathematics achievement. Furthermore, EFs measured with nonnumerical and numerical contents related differently to mathematics achievement, even when controlling for symbolic and nonsymbolic magnitude processing, suggesting they encompass somewhat distinct cognitive processes. Public Significance Statement In this study, we showed that nonsymbolic and symbolic magnitude processing and different types of executive functions are predictors of mathematics achievement in a sample of third- to fifth-grade children (8-10 years old) from a developing country. In particular, we observed stronger associations between mathematics achievement and symbolic magnitude processing and cognitive flexibility measured with numerical contents. Interestingly, inhibitory control measured with nonnumerical content had weak correlations with mathematics achievement.

Objectives To estimate the variability of the cumulative incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infections among elementary school students attributable to individual schools and/or their geographic areas, and to ascertain whether socio-economic characteristics of school populations and/or geographic areas may be predictive of this variability. Design Population-based observational study of SARS-CoV-2 infections among elementary school children. Setting 3994 publicly funded elementary schools in 491 forward sortation areas (designated geographic unit based on first three characters of Canadian postal code), Ontario, Canada, September 2020 to April 2021. Participants All students attending publicly funded elementary schools with a positive molecular test for SARS-CoV-2 reported by the Ontario Ministry of Education. Main outcome measures Cumulative incidence of laboratory-confirmed elementary school student SARS-CoV-2 infections in Ontario, 2020–21 school year. Results A multilevel modelling approach was used to estimate the effects of socio-economic factors at the school and area levels on the cumulative incidence of elementary school student SARS-CoV-2 infections. At the school level (level 1), the proportion of the student body from low-income households was positively associated with cumulative incidence (β=0.083, p<0.001). At the area level (level 2), all dimensions of marginalisation were significantly related to cumulative incidence. Ethnic concentration (β=0.454, p<0.001), residential instability (β=0.356, p<0.001) and material deprivation (β=0.212, p<0.001) were positively related, while dependency (β=-0.204, p<0.001) was negatively related. Area-related marginalisation variables explained 57.6% of area variability in cumulative incidence. School-related variables explained 1.2% of school variability in cumulative incidence. Conclusions The socio-economic characteristics of the geographic area of schools were more important in accounting for the cumulative incidence of SARS-CoV-2 elementary school student infections than individual school characteristics. Schools in marginalised areas should be prioritised for infection prevention measures and education continuity and recovery plans.

Background: The prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infections in Ontario is disproportionately concentrated in areas with lower-income and racialized groups. We examined whether school-level and area-level socio-economic factors were associated with elementary school student infections in Ontario. Methods: We performed multi-level modeling analyses using data from the Ministry of Education on school-based infections in Ontario in the 2020-21 school year and on school-level demographics, the Ontario Marginalization Index, and census data to estimate the variability of the cumulative incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infections amongst elementary school students attributable to individual schools (school level, Level 1) and forward sortation areas (FSAs) of schools (area level, Level 2). We explored whether socio-economic factors within individual schools and/or factors common to schools within FSAs predicted the incidence of elementary school student infections. Results: At the school level, the proportion of students from low-income households within a school was positively related with the cumulative incidence of SARS-CoV-2 elementary school student infections ( β = .083, p < 0.001). At the area level, the dimensions of FSA marginalization were significantly related with cumulative incidence. Ethnic concentration ( β = .454, p < 0.001), residential instability ( β = .356, p < 0.001), and material deprivation ( β = .212, p < 0.001) were positively related. Area-related variables were more likely to explain variance in cumulative incidence than school-related variables (58% versus 1%, respectively). Interpretation: Socio-economic characteristics of the geographic location of schools were more important in determining the cumulative incidence of SARS-CoV-2 elementary school student infections than individual school characteristics. Given inequitable effects of protracted education disruption, schools in marginalized areas should be prioritized for infection prevention measures and education continuity and recovery plans.