The Undeniable Relationship Between Reading Comprehension and Mathematics Performance

Issues in Educational Research, 30(4), 2020 1329
The undeniable relationship between reading

comprehension and mathematics performance
Anna L. Gomez, Elena D. Pecina, Sara Abi Villanueva and Tonya Huber
Texas A&M International University, USA
In a world driven by literacy, there is still unfortunately a stigma about teachers who are
not English, language arts or reading teachers, undertaking teaching of reading skills
and/or strategies in their courses. The maths world still does not accept reading as a
major component; however, the consequences are too noticeable to ignore. It is time for
the education system to accept the importance of implementing reading skills in
mathematics classes to curtail the issues that arise with students doing poorly in maths
because it is much more than the manipulation of numbers. Fuchs et al. (2015) clarified
“[w]ord-problem (WP) solving differs from other forms of mathematics competence
because it requires students to decipher text describing a problem situation and derive
the number sentence representing the situation” (p. 204). Content-area teachers are
becoming aware of the relationship between these two subjects and are adding reading
into the mathematics curriculum because of the necessity. Bernadowski (2016) stated
“[i]n an era of accountability and standards-based instruction, it is no secret that content
area teachers are finding themselves in the throes of literacy instruction” (p. 3). The
purpose of this literature review is to identify how reading comprehension contributes to
the mathematics performance of elementary and middle school students.
Introduction
For many, mathematics does not correlate with reading; however, the available research
suggests otherwise. Walkington (2018) explained,
... one reason why mathematics achievement may be so closely linked to reading is that
many mathematics problems involve considerable reading demands. Mathematical
information is often presented in verbal (rather than symbolic) formats, with significant
unraveling and decoding of the English language needed to extract relevant relations (p.
363).
Reading and mathematics are usually not taught by the same teacher; however, adding
reading comprehension strategies in mathematics classrooms may help instruction and
student comprehension. Walkington (2018) stated,
[m]athematics teachers could develop an understanding of what factors make reading

mathematics problems difficult and implement strategies to assist students in
overcoming these difficulties. Particularly, discipline-specific reading behaviors that are
endemic to the genre of mathematics story problems could be developed and cultivated
(see Shanahan & Shanahan, 2008) (p. 407).
Even when math teachers understand the importance of reading comprehension in

mathematical performance, it is not an easy task for them to include reading components
in their lessons. Bernadowski (2016) stated,
1330 The undeniable relationship between reading comprehension and mathematics performance
[a]lthough the mantra that ‘every teacher is a teacher of reading’ is still not internalized by
all content area teachers, many have demonstrated more interest in including literacy in
their classrooms, but they may still lack the necessary knowledge base to do so effectively
(D’Arcangelo, 2002; Vacca, 2002) (p. 3).
The purpose of this literature review is to identify how reading comprehension

contributes to the overall mathematics performance of elementary and middle school
students.
Positioning the researchers
Teachers as researchers
The lead authors, Anna L. Gomez and Elena Pecina, were both in their sixth year of
teaching with elementary and middle school experience during the writing of this review,
Gomez, a fifth-grade reading teacher, and Pecina a mathematics teacher. Both were
teaching in the same successful, low-income school in south Texas. Both hold a Bachelor
of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies with a concentration in Bilingual Education EC-6;
both are bilingually certified in all subject areas as educators in the State of Texas. Both
authors had recently obtained Masters degrees in school counselling and were State
certified.
Pecina personally experienced the United States educational system as a second language
learner. She was born in Laredo, Texas, but raised in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico.
When the co-author was eleven years old, her mother decided to immigrate to the United
States. Unfortunately, many American teachers have the misconception that Mexican
students are naturally gifted and successful mathematicians. There are also some teachers
guided by another misconception that mathematics is conceptually taught the same, no
matter the country or culture. The notion that mathematics is a universal language has
some foundational truth to it; however, both misconceptions about specific ethnicities
being mathematically gifted and that maths is learned the same way is detrimental for
students forced to learn maths in a different language, and much more so, in a different
country.
As a student, Pecina understood that calculations were universal, but the language,
context, and approach were completely different from the one she was exposed to in
Mexico. For example, she had to learn a new measurement system, the customary system.
She was only knowledgeable about the metric system at that time. Not only did this affect
her in maths, it is easy to see the effect it would have on processing other forms of
measurement. Additionally, the approach to learning the times tables was very different
from the one she learned at her previous school in Mexico. As a second language learner,
she believes that mathematics is contextually and culturally based, and that maths teachers
need to consider this when teaching English learners.
As educators, we have experienced how reading comprehension plays an important role in

solving mathematical word problems. Maths students are not just required to gain
Gomez, Pecina, Villanueva & Huber 1331
knowledge and master mathematical skills, but must also learn comprehension skills to be
successful in the subject area. To foster awareness in the education field, the authors see
the need for research on this topic. The authors have seen teachers who focus only on
teaching their subject content and overlook what students need, thereby ignoring the
importance of text comprehension and how it contributes to academic performance
elsewhere. Teachers should not set their focus solely on their specific content area;
reading should be incorporated and embedded throughout the daily lessons. Teachers
should be aware of how reading contributes to the success of students in all academic
areas. When this awareness occurs, teachers’ effectiveness increases, and they see
themselves as the reading teachers that they are destined to be. The lead authors
understand and currently witness the urgent need for incorporating reading skills in all
academic areas to create critical thinkers, problem solvers, and college-ready students.
Graduate researcher
With close to fourteen years of English, Language Arts, and Reading (ELAR) teaching
experience at the middle and high school levels, Sara Abi Villanueva is a firm believer that
teaching comprehension skills, no matter the content area, positively impacts learning
outcomes. As she is studying for a graduate degree in special education with a
concentration in reading, she is familiar with research concerning issues in literacy and
comprehension. Since reading occurs in all subject areas, the argument that reading has no
bearing in science, social studies, or even in music classes, to list a few, is questionable.
Working with students with learning disabilities, giftedness, and all those in between, the
third author understands and advocates the need to incorporate comprehension skills and
activities in non-reading courses from elementary onwards.
Professor of educational research
Our fourth author, Professor Tonya Huber, has had the privilege of teaching the
foundations of educational research for three decades. She challenges graduate students to
investigate the familiarity of teaching to hone their skills by delving into the topics about
which they are passionate and deepening their own knowledge bases as well as enriching
the profession through presentation and publication. Grounded by the work of Paulo
Freire, Huber encourages educators to develop the liberatory pedagogist’s critical
consciousness: “Experience teaches us not to assume that the obvious is clearly
understood. So it is with the truism … All educational practice implies a theoretical stance
on the educator’s part” (Freire, 1970, p. 250). To constantly explore one’s own theoretical
stance is the challenge for teachers who intend to engage their students in “authentic
dialogue” (p. 181), and the basis of dialogue is literacy.
Language diversity and mathematics
Many English learners struggle with learning English because they do not yet have the
basics and foundations of their native language, making the building and scaffolding from
those missing basics much more difficult. For instance, children searching within their
schema for terms in their language will not be successful if their native vocabulary is
lacking (i.e., children trying to interpret the term denominator when they have yet to learn it
in their native language). Educators must also consider the types or levels of native
language spoken at home. For instance, most Spanish-speaking children in the authors'
hometown do not speak formal Spanish; many speak a form of Tex-Mex or Spanglish,
where a combination of English and Spanish slang make a unique language of its own.
However, state exams are given in formal Spanish using both terminology, grammar, and
syntactical structures that students are not accustomed to. Research shows that "language
diversity in the school context influences how schools operate in relation to curriculum
practice with serious effects on how [educators] need to reconsider mathematics teaching
and learning" (Chronaki & Planas, 2018, p. 1102). There are pertinent questions that come
to mind "in a world that urges [educators] to consider: ‘How many people today live in a
language that is not their own? Or no longer, or not yet, even know their own and know
poorly the major language that they are forced to serve?’ (Deleuze & Guattari, 1987, p.
19)" quoted in Chronaki and Planas (2018, p. 1102).
Understanding that students come to school with an array of literacies, many of which are
far from fluent, the teacher's next step is to create bridges from those literacies to the
academic ones, such as mathematics. Chronaki and Planas (2018) urged teachers to
"consider nomadic or youth cultures and their vernacular or colloquial languages used in
their everyday localities, where increased use of pop culture, social media and digital texts
tend to recreate and transform the context for communicating mathematical ideas and
activity (De Freitas & McAuley, 2008)" (p. 1103). Bridging literacy gaps in academics is a
daunting task for any educator. If it was not challenging enough to tackle the issues that
arise with one or two non-English languages in the classroom, now educators need to
consider the challenges of multiple literacies. However, as formidable as this challenge can
be, the advantages of multiple literacies in the classroom outweigh the rest.
Definitions
In the research under review, the lead authors identified 12 definitions that will help
readers have a better understanding of the topic. Since not all the readers are familiar with
educational terminology as employed by the authors and researchers cited in this review of
literature, adding the definitions of the terms is fundamental. The aim of providing
definitions in Table 1 is to help readers discern the relationship between reading
comprehension and academic performance in mathematics, as reported in the research.
Also provided is a list of commonly used acronyms in reference to English learners (see
Table 2).
Table 1: Terms and definitions related to reading comprehension and academic

performance
Term Definition Reference

Disciplinary “or content-area specific literacy, consists of literacy skills Stoffelsma &
literacy and knowledge that support students’ understanding of Spooren, 2019,
concepts related to a particular field of study, such as science p. 906
and mathematics”
Inferential “teachers enquire about situations and scenarios that cannot Rojas Rojas et
be located within the text; students must form logical links al., 2019,
between facts and processes by incorporating previous p. 1834
knowledge and by establishing inferences that favour the
construction of coherent representations”
Language “the ability to attribute semantic meaning to spoken words, Melby-Lervåg &
compre- […] word definitions, or listening comprehension” Lervåg, 2014,
hension p. 410
Lexical “or rapid automatized naming, which involves recording a Kuzmina et al.,
access visual symbol onto a sound-based representation by 2019, pp. 640-
retrieving its lexical referent from long-term memory” 641
Phonological “awareness of and access to the sound structure of oral Kuzmina et al.,
awareness language” 2019, p. 640
Phonological “temporary memory storage of phonological information Kuzmina et al.,
memory similar to the phonological loop in models of working 2019, p. 641
memory”
Phonological “refers to an individual’s sensitivity to the sounds of the Kuzmina et al.,
processing language and to the capacity to use these sounds to decode 2019, p. 640
linguistic information”
Problem “refers to the ability to translate the language that is Swanson et al.,
translation embedded in the math word problem into a coherent verbal 2019, p. 69
representation, indicating that the solver has understood the
problem”
Reading “the product of decoding and language comprehension” Melby-Lervåg &
compre- Lervåg, 2014,
hension p. 415
Scaffolding “provides support and keys for students to tackle tasks and Rojas Rojas et
problems with reading comprehension in order for them to al., 2019,
have an active role in building coherent mental pp. 1828-1829
representations of scientific processes”
Second- “were operationally defined as children/youths who either Melby-Lervåg &
language use or study two languages. In addition, the child/youth Lervåg, 2014,
learners must be exposed to each language either regularly at home p. 415
with at least one parent or in school for at least 4 hours per
day”
Table 2: Common names and acronyms for English learners
Term Definition Reference

EAL English as an additional language Trakulphadetkrai et al., 2020, p. 473
EL English learners MacDonald & Banes, 2017, p. 25
EOs English only speakers MacDonald & Banes, 2017, p. 26
FLE English as the first language Trakulphadetkrai et al., 2020, p. 473
Method
Search process
A preliminary literature review search was conducted using WorldCat in the TAMIU
library catalogue. The following filters were selected for the search: TAMIU Killam
Library, peer reviewed, article, database, last five years, and English language. In using the
mentioned filters, along with the search terms reading comprehension and math performance, the
WorldCat database yielded 785 sources. Many of these sources did not pertain to the topic
of this literature review. Of these 785 sources, the first two lead authors searched the titles
for the following terms: text comprehension, reading comprehension, math and reading performance,
struggling in reading, academic performance, and second language learners. Titles without at least two
or three of these terms were eliminated from the search process. However, the search
yielded too many sources for both the lead authors to look through, which meant the
search process would have to begin again. In order to narrow the source output, Galvan
and Galvan (2017) explained that one “can limit the search by adding additional keywords
with Boolean operators such as AND, OR, and NOT” (p. 29). With this in mind, a more
effective review search was completed by using keywords with Boolean operators and the
same filters, which proved beneficial.
In this first modified search, the number of results were filtered by entering “text
comprehension” AND “math performance.” Five sources were located, but only two
were relevant to the topic. Three out of the five sources found with these search terms
were duplicated. In the second search, the words used were “reading comprehension”
AND “math performance” AND “secondary students.” Only one source was located, but
the title was irrelevant to the topic of this literature review. In the third search, authors
used “reading comprehension” AND “science reading comprehension.” They located 24
sources, but three of the sources were the same. From this search, only two out of the 24
were relevant sources for this literature review. The other 19 articles’ titles and abstracts
were unrelated to the topic being reviewed. The fourth search consisted of the following
terms, “word problems” AND “text comprehension.” Four out of the 27 located sources
under this search term were relevant to the topic. The other 23 articles’ titles and abstracts
were irrelevant. The fifth search terms were “word problems” AND “struggling in
reading.” This search yielded one relevant source for the review.
The following filters were used on the sixth search using the ERIC EBSCO database:
Boolean phrase, all publication type, language-English, and article document type. The
following terms were used, “science” AND “reading comprehension” AND

“scaffolding”. The years 2014-2020 could not be searched; instead, the years searched
were 2015-2019. This search yielded five sources; however, based on titles alone, only one
source was found to be relevant. The lead authors realised that the ERIC EBSCO
searches were not yielding as many relevant sources as they had hoped, so they decided to
search WorldCat again.
In WorldCat, the following filters were used again: TAMIU Killam Library, peer reviewed,
article, database, last 5 years, and English language. In the seventh search, the terms
“reading comprehension” AND “academic performance” AND “learning” AND
“achievement” AND “relationship” were used. Seventy-nine sources were found; again,
based on titles, only one was relevant to the topic. On the eighth search, “reading” AND
“first language” AND “second language learners” AND “phonological awareness” were
used, and forty-five sources were yielded. Only one was used and the other 44 were
disregarded based on titles. In the ninth search, “mathematics word problems” AND
“performance” were searched. Based on titles only, one out of the 16 sources was relevant
to the topic. Nine sources were yielded in the tenth search with the terms “at-risk
students” AND “comprehension” AND “qualitative.” Only one title was relevant to the
topic. On the eleventh search, the terms “mathematical” AND “reading” AND
“secondary students” were used; 54 sources were yielded, but only one was relevant based
on the title.
The twelfth and thirteenth searches were conducted using Google Scholar; the searches
were based within the last 5 years as well. In the twelfth search, the following terms were
used: “math word problems” AND “reading comprehension” AND “elementary school”
AND “ELs.” Parameters were set to include only peer reviewed journals. In this search,
one out of 47 sources was relevant to the topic; the other 46 articles were excluded based
on the titles. For the thirteenth, the following terms were used: "mathematics" AND
"reading comprehension" AND "relationships" AND "working memory" AND "English
as an additional language" AND "elementary" AND "academic achievement." The
authors narrowed the search for articles from 2014 to present. This search yielded 53
results and based on titles, only one was relevant.
The last two searches were conducted using Scopus; the date range was set for 2014 to
2020. The fourteenth search included the following terms: “reading comprehension”
AND “math problems” AND “English language learners.” Unfortunately, the search
yielded zero results. Broadening the search, the following terms were used in the fifteenth,
and last search: “reading” AND “comprehension” AND “math” AND “problems.” This
search yielded 11 sources, of which one was relevant. The terms and results for each
search are recorded in Table 3.
Table 3: Audit trail
Dates Sources Relevant Author

Database Search terms
reviewed located sources (year)
1 WorldCat 2014- “text comprehension” AND 5 2 Fuchs et al. (2018)
2019 Oct. “math performance” [5]; Kuzmina et al.
(2019) [7]
2 WorldCat 2014- “reading comprehension” 1 0
2019 Oct. AND “math performance”
AND "secondary students"
3 WorldCat 2014- “reading comprehension” 24 2 Ardasheva et al.
2019 Oct. AND “science reading (2019) [2]; Rojas
comprehension” Rojas et al. (2019)
[11]
4 WorldCat 2014- “word problems” AND “text 27 3 Fuchs et al. (2015)
2019 Oct. comprehension” [4]; Fuchs et al.
(2018) [5]; Swanson
et al. (2019) [6]
5 WorldCat 2014- “word problems” AND 1 1 Swanson et al. (2019)
2019 Oct. “struggling in reading” [6]
6 EBSCO 2015- "science" AND "reading 5 1 Rojas Rojas et al.
2019 Oct. comprehension" AND (2019) [11]
"scaffolding"
7 WorldCat 2014- "reading comprehension" 79 1 Stoffelsma &
2019 Oct. AND "academic performance" Spooren (2019) [12]
AND "learning" AND
"achievement" AND
"relationship"
8 WorldCat 2014- “reading” AND “first 45 1 Melby-Lervåg &
2019 Dec. language” AND “second Lervåg (2014) [9]
language learners” AND
“phonological awareness”
9 WorldCat 2014- “mathematics word problems” 16 1 Walkington et al.
2019 Oct. AND “performance” (2018) [14]
10 WorldCat 2014- "at-risk students" AND 9 1 Bernadowski (2016)
2019 "comprehension" AND [3]
Nov. "qualitative"
11 WorldCat 2014- “mathematical” AND 54 1 Anselmo et al.
2019 “reading” AND “secondary (2017) [1]
Nov. students”
12 Google 2014- "mathematics" AND "reading 52 1 Trakulphadetkrai et
Scholar 2020 Oct. comprehension" AND al. (2020) [13]
"relationships" AND "working
memory" AND "English as an
additional language" AND
"elementary" AND "academic
achievement"
13 Google 2014- “math word problems” AND 47 1 MacDonald & Banes

Scholar 2020 Oct. “reading comprehension” (2017) [8]
AND "elementary school"
AND “ELs”
14 Scopus 2014- “reading comprehension” 0 0
2020 Oct. AND “math problems” AND
“English language learners”
15 Scopus 2014- “reading” AND 11 1 Özcan & Do an
2020 “comprehension” AND (2018) [10]
Oct. “math” AND “problems”
Note: Rather than 17 relevant sources, because of duplications, there were 14 relevant sources as
indicated by the numbers in square brackets [], last column.
Table 4: Methods
Authors
Participants Methods Findings
(year)
Anselmo et 298 students in total; M-CMB computation, M-CAP, Maths performance
al. (2017) 166 males; 132 females and MAZE probes were used in reflects on basic reading
this research (p. 1150). skills such as, “reading
Demographics: comprehension […] a
214 White; 64 African “probes were group administered stronger part of math
American; 10 Hispanic in language arts classrooms and ability than calculation
or Latino; 10 Multiracial. scored by teachers who had been skills and should not be
“The current study incl- trained to administer and score ignored when
uded 298 students that based on standardized considering overall math
attended a rural middle procedures” (p. 1152). skills” (p. 1157).
school in the Southeast.
The participating school Assessments:
enrolled students in the SPSS; North Carolina End of
6th, 7th, and 8th grades” Grade Math (NC-EOG-M)
(p. 1151). (p. 1152).
Region: North Carolina,
USA.
Ardasheva 17,000 students in total “... study sought to generate There’s a correlation
et al. (2019) descriptions of current and between academic
Demographics: former ELs’ science reading vocabulary and reading
35% were ELs, 204 comprehension and vocabulary comprehension, and
regular education, Grade knowledge profiles, in comparis- researchers conclude,
7 students; age range 11- on to those of non-ELs” (p. 154). “vocabulary to be the
13 years old; 56% “... explore the relative contribut- strongest predictor of
female participants ions of language-specific and science reading
meta-cognitive knowledge to comprehension in both
Region: Pacific science reading comprehension current and former ELs.
Northwest urban middle of current and former ELs, the Contrary to other
school (p. 145-155). bilingual student population at studies, academic
the heart of the present study” (p. vocabulary knowledge
154). was not a predictor of
Assessments: Washington English current ELs’ reading
Authors
(year)
Language Proficiency Assessment comprehension” (p.
(WELPA; General Academic 161).
Vocabulary Measure GAVM;
Vocabulary-of-Science Scale-
Earth Systems VSS-ES; Science
Reading Comprehension-Earth
Systems SRC-ES; Memory
Strategies MS, and Vocabulary
Self-Efficacy VSE (p. 155).
Bernad- 1 eighth-grade “The researcher’s primary By reviewing and being
owski mathematics teacher purpose was to document the vigilant in one’s own
(2016) techniques implemented by the teaching practices, “edu-
Demographics: teacher as she modeled think- cators have the ability to
18 students; 10 males, 8 alouds while teaching students to improve their own instr-
females; 6 students answer word problems in their uction while providing a
identified with learning math journals” (p. 7). catalyst for student
disabilities; 2 students success” (p. 13).
with speech and Assessments: “Data were Teacher self-evaluation
language differences; triangulated by using semi- led to students’ incorp-
10 students who were structured interviews, oration of “new reading
considered “on grade observations, and artifacts to strategy to solving word
level” document the participant’s problems, and talk about
progress in teaching her students math in ways that allow-
Region: Western to write more effectively in the ed deep understanding
Pennsylvania (p. 7) content area” (p. 7). of processes useful in
environments permeated
by mathematical
mysteries” (p.13).
Fuchs et al. Total 206 children from Assessments: Emphasis on a student’s
(2015) 54 2nd-grade classrooms WJ-III Visual Matching, WM working memory (WM)
in 14 schools. Test Battery for Children, WJ-III in word problems (WP)
Concept Formation, Woodcock shows the importance
Demographics: Diagnostic Reading Battery- between comprehension
At the start of 2nd Listening Comprehension, and maths as seen in text
grade, the mean age was Mathematic Assessment Battery, comprehension (TC)
7 years 6 months; 52% Word Identification Fluency (pp. (pp. 216-219).
female; 78% received 208-209).
subsidised lunch; 59%
African American; 26%
non-Hispanic White; 9%
White Hispanic; 5%
other (p. 208)
Region: Not mentioned

Authors
(year)
Fuchs et al. 325 students “selected “employed a stringent model that
Researchers concluded
(2018) to represent high, simultaneously controlled for TC
that “[l]anguage
average, and low reading and early word-problem skill, predicted each of the
and mathematics both of which have been shown WP outcomes
performance […] from to share variance with language”
substantially and
133 2nd-grade class- (p. 161). significantly more
rooms in 24 schools” strongly than the
(pp. 154-155). Assessment: contrasting mathematics
Demographics: mean age 7 “WP language was assessed with outcome involving pure
yrs 6 m; 50% female; WP assessment” (p. 156). calculations. This
78% low socio- provides strong evidence
economic status; 48% for the role of language
African American ; 31% in WP solving” (p. 161).
non-Hispanic White;
15% White Hispanic;
7% other; 6% had an
identified disability; 11%
were EL (p. 155).
Region: Urban district in
USA (p. 155)
Swanson et 142 students in total “ELL status was determined by
Different strategies are
al. (2019) scores on the California English
needed for reading com-
third-grade students Language Development Test prehension, such as
from 12 classes in four (CELDT)” (p. 71). “examining text releva-
public schools nce and selecting and
“Monolingual and ELL children inhibiting information
Demographics: with and without MD were according to importance
77 boys administered an array of is a necessary process for
65 girls individual and group measures” improving comprehen-
71 Hispanic English (p. 73). sion” (p. 78).
language learners Researchers stated that
71 monolingual English Pre-assessments: “paraphrasing relevant
speakers CELDT, Raven Colored propositions contributed
Progressive Matrices Test, to significantly higher
Region: Wechsler Individual Achievement word problem solving
Southwestern USA Test, Comprehensive math accuracy scores at post-
(p. 71) Achievement Test, Test of Math test, even after controll-
Ability, Test of Reading ing for pretest reading
Comprehension (p. 71). comprehension and calc-
ulation performance”
(p.79).
Kuzmina et 3,296 students in total In two assessment cycles, Phonological processing
al. (2019) “[c]hildren were assessed on a is “predictive not only
Demographics: one-to-one basis by trained for tasks that included
first graders testers using a computer-assisted arithmetic operations but
49% girls software” (p. 645). also for number recogni-
mean age was 7.3 yrs. tion tasks” (p. 653).
Authors
(year)
(p. 645) Assessments: Phonological processing
The instrument used was is another component
Region: “Russian version of iPIPS, which that is “significantly to
The participants were is based on PIPS monitoring not only storing inform-
from the Tatar Republic system” (p. 645). ation, but also transcod-
region located in the ing processes per se” (p.
central part of Russia (p. “To examine the achievement 653).
645) level of students over time, we Researchers state
applied the vertical scaling “reading performance
procedure, using the was also a significant
dichotomous Rasch model” (p. predictor of mathematic-
646). al performance” (p. 654).
MacDonald 29 students in total “This inquiry project was conduc- “Reading comprehens-
& Banes ted in a fourth grade classroom at ion is strongly correlated
(2017) Demographics: a public Title 1 school” (p. 25). with students’ success on
15 were Hispanic; “four focal students were selected mathematical word
6 White; for in depth data analysis. These problems” (Vilenius-
5 African Americans; focal students were either reading Tuohimaa, Aunola &
1 Pacific Islander; at a first or second grade level, Nurmi, 2008 in
1 Alaska Native; and were because they represent MacDonald & Banes,
1 Hmong; the reading levels of a large 2017 p. 26).
portion of the class. Two of the
13 students’ native focal students were ELs and two Researchers found that
language was Spanish; students were EOs” (p. 26). using different strategies
1 student’s native Each of the students completed such as discussing with a
language was Hmong; three rounds of data collection partner, drawing, and
that consisted of “(1) retell a writing improved
Grade 4 students presented word problem in their students’ comprehension
In Applegate own words (2) solve the problem of word problems (p.
Elementary, 42% of the using one of the three strategies, 31).
students are ELs; and (3) retell the problem again”
(p. 27).
Region: Assessments:
suburban neighborhood, Retell rubric (p. 24); California
California English Language Development
(pp. 25-26) Test (CELDT) (p. 25); state and
district assessments (p. 27)
Melby- Literature review: “The target constructs in this Researchers concluded,
Lervåg & 82 studies study were reading “first-language learners
Lervåg comprehension, language demonstrated modera-
(2014) 576 effect sizes were comprehension, phonological tely better reading comp-
calculated for reading awareness, and decoding. For rehension skills than did
comprehension and each of these constructs, criteria second-language
underlying components were established to determine the learners” (p. 425).
(p. 409) types of measures that There is an undeniable
represented each” (p. 415). connection between
“[g]ood language and
Authors
(year)
Databases: decoding skills […]
Eric EBSCO, associated with good
Medline, reading comprehension
PsycARTICLES, skills, and the impact of
ProQuest dissertations, language comprehension
PsycINFO, on reading comprehen-
Google Scholar sion increased with age”
(p. 416). (p. 425).
Özcan & 185 first grade students “Bracken Basic Concepts Scale: “Results of this study
Do an 74 female students Expressive Form was applied to show that, not only early
(2018) (40%); 185 students at the beginning of math skills but also read-
111 males students the year over 15 days (in the first
ing comprehension was
(60%); half of October), and mathem- a powerful predictor of
The study was carried atical problem solving and read- mathematical problem
out at an elementary ing comprehension measurement solving”
school in Kadıköy, tools were applied at the end of “Some children develop
which is one of the the educational year (in the firstalgorithm skills (e.g. the
districts of Istanbul and half of May). Applications were ability to compute) quite
is the most crowded and done individually (for Bracken well, but they had diffic-
cosmopolitan city in Basic Concepts Scale), or in a ulty with word problems
Turkey (p. 4). classroom (for both mathematical (Fuentes, 1998), and
problem solving and reading because of the difficulty
Region: Public elementary comprehension questions), in word problems, they
school, Istanbul, Turkey. assigned by the school need to translate words
(p. 1) administration” (p. 5). into mathematical
symbols”
Assessments: Researchers found “[i]n
Bracken Basic Concepts Scale; a addition to mathematical
mathematical problem solving computations, the need
test; a reading comprehension for comprehending what
test. (p.4) he/she read is very imp-
ortant while solving
math word problems”
(p. 8).
Rojas Rojas Demographics: “The present study follows a mix- Successful teacher “uses
et al. (2019) three teachers; method approach: an exploratory reading in class to build
141 fourth-grade sequence design and an knowledge through the
students; embedded multiple case study formulation of inferen-
2 low-socioeconomic frame […]” (p. 1833). tial questions aimed at
schools; having students
48 class sessions. Assessment: construct a coherent
Sanchez’ Pedagogic Practice represent-ation of the
Region: Analysis System text they had read” (p.
Santiago, Chile (p. 1827). 1843).
(p. 1833)
Authors
(year)
Stoffelsma Demographics: “To measure the English reading Researchers state,
& Spooren 133 English language proficiency of the students, a “students’ academic
(2019) learners total of 54 reading test items were English reading
predominantly male selected from two internationally proficiency is important
age range 18 to 42 recognized reading comprehen- for their academic
sion tests: 26 from the PISA 2000 achievement in a multi-
Integrated Science Reading test (OECD, 2006) and lingual academic
student: Mean age 25.7 28 items from the Pearson Test context” (p. 917).
years. of English Academic (PTE
Academic)” (p. 912).
20 different languages Assessment analysis:
spoken by students (p. Rasch model (p. 913).
913) “Simple mediation analysis was
used to investigate the assumed
Region: relations between academic
Ghana (p. 905) English reading proficiency and
academic achievement” (p. 913).
Trakulpha- Demographics: “The EAL “The data collection took place Researchers found
detkrai et al. children in our study between December 2014 and “prominent role
(2020) came from 11 different March 2015, and in June 2016. A language plays in the
countries (China, Egypt, battery of five tests was development and assess-
Germany, Iceland, India, administered to each child and ment of mathematical
Italy, Pakistan, Poland, this took around an hour per ability” (p. 484).
Portugal, Romania or child to complete” (p. 479).
Uganda) and they spoke In addition, resear-chers
10 different first langu- Assessments: concluded, “FLE
ages (Arabic, German, Trends in International learners significantly out-
Icelandic, Italian, Konk- Mathematics and Science Study perform EAL learn-ers
ani, Luganda, Polish, (TIMSS) (p. 474); in the word-based
Romanian, Telugu or York Assessment of Reading for component of the
Urdu) in addition to Comprehension (YARC); mathematics test only.
English” (p. 478). C-test, or cloze test; The results of this study
EAL ranged from Automated Working Memory also indic-ate that there
46.8% to 73.7%; eligible Assessment (p. 479) are differences in how
for free school meals reading comprehen-sion
ranged from 20.6% to ability is related to the
32.4%. mathematical word
35 EAL children (16 problem solving
boys: 19 girls); 31 FLE performance for FLE
children (17 boys: 14 and EAL learners” (p.
girls) 484).
“Fifty-two urban sch-
ools across the south of The study’s “results are
England were approach- in line with previous
ed because of their repo- research that has shown
rted statistics of EAL English reading
children in their schools. comprehension ability to
Nine schools were be related to mathem-
Authors
(year)
happy to take part in the atical word problem
study and the percentage solving performance for
of EAL chil-dren in EAL learners” (p. 484).
these schools” (p. 478).
Region: South of England
Walkington Literature review: Researchers investigated that Diversity is a factor, e.g.
et al., (2018) Almost 20 years of “reading level of mathematics “[g]roups of students
maths achievement data word problems is differentially that have historically
from National Assessm- associated with performance for stronger performance in
ent of Educational Prog- students from different demog- mathematics or reading -
ress (NAEP) and Trends raphic backgrounds” (p. 364). including Caucasian
in International Math- Researchers focused on “interac- students and higher SES
ematics and Science tion of word problem readability, students - tend to see
Study (TIMSS) (p. 364). focusing on several key text- less impact on their
“Examining approxim- based indicators identified in performance on
ately 1,000 problems prior research, and student back- mathematics test items
solved by three-quarters ground characteristics, focusing when the reading
of a million fourth- and on characteristics where achieve- difficulty of the
eighth-grade U.S. ment differences are well estab- mathematics problem is
students” (p. 364). lished” (p. 364). greater” (p. 405).
Databases: Not mentioned
Table 5: Strengths, weaknesses and gaps found in the literature
Author
Strengths Weaknesses/gaps
(year)
Anselmo et • “Math ability at the secondary level • “participants were students from one
al. (2017) appears to be a conglomeration among grade and one middle school. In
many distinct abilities including, but not addition, the sample was ethnically
limited to, reasoning skills, calculation homogenous” (p. 1156).
skills, and reading ability” (p. 1156).
• “study both extended and challenged
previous research findings in regard to
the relationships among two M-CBM
measures, MAZE probes, and general
math proficiency” (pp. 1156-1157).
Ardasheva • Population of 17,000 students sampled • “tentative nature of our findings, which
et al (2019) - “[g]rade 7 students participated in the are in need of further explorations using
study. The age of participants ranged experimental and longitudinal design
between 11 and 13 years old; 56% of studies” (p. 160).
participants were female” (p. 155).
Bernadow- • “The researcher spent 5 hours a week • “The findings cannot be generalized to
ski(2016) over the course of 8 weeks for a total of other settings. From this, one cannot
40 hours of observation” (p. 7). assume that the think-aloud alone will
improve students’ abilities to solve
• “With a background in reading and math word problems. This study would
middle school teaching, the researcher be difficult to replicate. It is recomme-
Author
(year)
was able to see what some may not” (p. nded that a large sample be used if
13). trying to prove such a claim” (p. 12).
Fuchs et al. • The researchers use a “sample of 206 • The researchers suggested that “future
(2015) children from 54 second-grade research should measure knowledge of
classrooms in 14 schools” (p. 208). vocabulary specific to TC measures; this
• A wide range of achievement tests were would further strengthen the test of our
administered to the participants. hypothesis about distinctions between
TC and WP solving” (p. 221).
Fuchs et al. • “WP solving and its potential • “relied exclusively on a measure of
(2018) connections to TC by assessing whether vocabulary as the indicator of language
initial arithmetic skill (basic facts) ability, without indexing syntax or
predicts year-end calculations sentence processing” (p. 163).
(multidigit problems with and without • “the present study’s sample was largely
regrouping) more strongly than both from families of low-socioeconomic
year-end WP measures” (p. 161). status” (p. 163).
Swanson et • The researchers mention related studies • “the number of ELL participants with
al. (2019) and outcomes. (MD) who took part in the study was
• Researchers brought awareness about relatively small. The small sample size
issues with math disabilities (MD). impacts precision in measurement,
affecting statistical power” (p. 80).
• The researchers also suggested further
research to “clarify the effects of para-
phrasing specific instructional propos-
itions within word problems on near
and far transfer measures for students
for whom English is a second language”
(p. 80).
Kuzmina et • Assessed a large sample size. • The researchers used only a two-wave
al. (2019) • The researchers synthesised the data longitudinal design (p. 644).
collected about the effect of phonolo- • Another limitation for this study “was
gical processing on mathematics into an the instrument for measuring
organised article. phonological processing. In fact,
• The study was “consistent with some phonological processing is represented
previous studies that have demonstra- in this study mostly by one dimension
ted that phonological processing affect- instead of the possible three” (p. 656).
ed mathematical performance (Hecht et
al., 2001; Krajewski & Schneider,
2009)” (p. 652).
MacDonald • “The findings are supported by other • The researchers use a small number of
& Banes research studies” (p. 29). Many participants (p. 26). Although a diverse
(2017) researchers are bringing awareness on group of 29 students, the authors chose
how reading comprehension affects two to "represent" the EO population;
ELs math performance. this goes against the argument that
• Teachers conducted this article review. English Learners are all the same. This
They have experienced how ELs is not a one-size-fits-all situation.
struggle with reading comprehension to • Researchers concluded, “that retells
solve math problems. alone are not enough to determine
Author
(year)
whether a student understood a prob-
lem” (p. 32). By using a combination of
assessments, can offer a more accurate
view of students’ comprehension of a
mathematical word problem.
Melby- • “first-language learners demonstrated • Researchers explained the possibility of
Lervåg & moderately better reading comprehen- bias because “only three of the studies
Lervåg sion skills than did second-language [they] located could be included in the
(2014) learners” (p. 425). meta-analysis” (p. 428).
Özcan & • “One of the striking results of this • “Studying only the first grade is a limi-
Doğan study was that early math skills were tation of this study”, researchers could
(2018) also a predictor of reading skills. As have focused on more grade levels in
indicated in the literature, mathematics order to strengthen results (p. 8).
performance and reading skills have
been shown to be closely related. For • Researchers discuss a study, which
example, Light and De Fries (1995) contradicts the topic of this literature
showed that difficulties in arithmetic review by stating that early mathem-
were associated with the development atics skills are a greater predictor of
of reading ability” (p. 8). mathematics and reading achievement.
Rojas Rojas • The researchers used a “mix method • The researchers used a small number of
et al. (2019) approach to compare the cognitive participants.
scaffolding practiced by teachers during • Researchers did not “measure the actual
science reading activities in high- and level of reading comprehension
low-performing schools” (p. 1827). achieved by students, nor did it gauge
the effects of scaffolding on learning”
(p. 1843).
Stoffelsma • The researchers mention related studies • “current study is based on correlat-
& Spooren, and outcomes. ional research that could be strength-
(2019) • “study added substantially to our ened by an experimental intervention to
understanding of the relation between investigate a possible causal relation-
L2 students’ English reading proficie- ship between language proficiency and
ncy and their science and mathematics academic achievement” (p. 918).
achievement at tertiary level” (p. 917).
Trakulpha- • “A significant finding of this study is • “In our study, on careful consideration
detkrai et al. that general language ability, as measur- of the learner proficiency levels and the
(2020) ed by the C-test, plays a key role in per- consistency of some minor errors, we
formance on word-based mathematics took a slightly different approach and
assessments for FLE learners” (p. 483). awarded a point for grammatically and
• “A strength of the current study lies semantically correct variations as well as
with the inclusion of the language simple misspellings (e.g. cliff vs clif) as
ability (C-test) and SWRT alongside a it can be argued that they still
measure of reading comprehension, demonstrate comprehension by our
which allows for a more in-depth young participants” (p. 480).
investigation of the contribution of
different aspects of language and
reading ability to the assessment of
mathematical knowledge in EAL
Author
(year)
children” (p. 484).
• “While the current study was situated
in the UK and has made references to
the UK context, it is our strong belief
that our findings are also applicable to
other settings” (p. 485).
Walkington • “Readability tools like Coh-Metrix • There are methodological limitations to
et al. (2018) provide fine-grained measures that can this analysis. “[T]he problem-level
specify different features of readability. variables that were available in the
Knowing these specific features allows NAEP and TIMSS. Specifically, there
for more targeted interventions to was no sensible way to separate
improve the readability of mathematics problem mathematical difficulty from
items” (p. 405). reading difficulty” (p. 404).
• “the sample size needed to make
sensible comparisons between student
demographic groups across a variety of
demographic variables” (p. 404).
Findings
This literature review on how reading comprehension is linked to mathematics

performance has revealed vital findings concerning the different factors affecting students’
achievement in these subject areas (see Figure 1). MacDonald & Banes (2017) stated that
“in the field of mathematics, comprehension is crucial for students’ success in word
problems and in real world application” (p. 26). Many factors contribute to this success;
relevant factors that, if not well nurtured, affect math performance are phonological
processing, language comprehension, reading comprehension, and problem translation.
However, prior to establishing these basics, educators must consider the language(s) that
their students speak, read, and write; which language(s) are nurtured at home, and thus
have an effect on how that student learns at school.
Language diversity
Assuming, that all cultures and languages learn maths the same way is detrimental in
teaching mathematics to English learners. As explained earlier, the students bring to the
classroom an array of languages moulded from the literacies they engage in both at home
and within their social lives. It is imperative that educators consider the number of
literacies that they are working with in their classrooms. A lack of native language
foundation, coupled with cultural nuances, and social literacies create a whole new set of
questions educators must think to ask prior to even teaching, one being, how does all this
effect the way we teach math? Even if educators do their part to address the multiple literacies
that they welcome within their classrooms, the issue comes when students take state- or
nationally-mandated assessments. A study by Trakulphadetkrai et al. (2020), focused on
“Fifty-two urban schools across the south of England” with “the percentage of EAL
children in these schools rang[ing] from 46.8% to 73.7%,” and “EAL children in [their]
study came from 11 different countries (China, Egypt, Germany, Iceland, India, Italy,
Pakistan, Poland, Portugal, Romania or Uganda)” (p. 478). The authors noted that these
children “spoke 10 different first languages (Arabic, German, Icelandic, Italian, Konkani,
Luganda, Polish, Romanian, Telugu or Urdu) in addition to English” (p. 478). It is naïve
and academically irresponsible to assume that state- and national-assessments are created
to fit the linguistic needs for these students.
Phonological
processing
(Kuzmina,
Ivanova &
Kaiky, 2019)
Reading
comprehension Factors that Language
impact maths comprehension
(Melby-Lerväg performance (Melby-Lerväg
& Lerväg,
& Lerväg, 2014)
2014)
Problem translation
(Swanson, Kong,
Moran & Orosco,
2019)
Figure 1: Factors that impact maths performance
Unfortunately, this study applies to too many cities, states, and countries around the
world. Trakulphadetkrai et al. (2020) explained that their findings are relevant because “an
increasing number of high-stakes mathematics standardised tests around the world place
an emphasis on using mathematical word problems to assess students’ mathematical
understanding” (p. 473). Assessments are not created with the test takers languages or
cultures in mind, “[n]ot only do these assessments require children to think
mathematically, but making sense of these tests’ mathematical word problems also brings
children’s language ability…into play” (p. 473). With this understanding, educators can
now look at four factors that affect overall reading comprehension and mathematical
ability.
Phonological processing
The first factor, phonological processing, is a concept, which is confusing even to

experienced educators. Phonological processing is composed of three different categories:
phonological awareness, lexical access, and phonological memory (see Figure 2). In order
for readers to understand phonological processing, the lead researchers created a

comparison figure. The figure consists of a vase with growing flowers. The vase contains
the roots, which are healthy and filled with nutrients; without the nurtured roots, the
flowers would not bloom. In other words, without well-developed phonological
processing skills, processing and/or organising letters that make up certain words would
be highly improbable, resulting in limitations dealing with phonological awareness, lexical
access, and phonological memory.
Flowers represent phonological

awareness, lexical access and
phonological memory.
Roots represent phonological

processing; without healthy roots, the
flowers will not grow.
Figure 2: Phonological processing visual
Therefore, whenever readers lack phonological processing skills, reading comprehension

becomes a struggle — unorganised decoding skills equal unorganised comprehension,
even in content areas like maths. Kuzmina et al. (2019) stated that “phonological
processing had an effect on children's number recognition and mathematical
performance” (p. 652). For instance, a typical student who lacks reading comprehension
and phonological processing can be an excellent math student who solves numeric
operations; however, when the math problem is made complex by adding words, the
student tends to ignore the question behind the problem. In contrast, when students have
a strong phonological processing foundation (see Figure 2), their language comprehension
skills can be nurtured so word problems no longer create barriers or limits on a student’s
mathematical ability.
Language comprehension
Trakulphadetkrai et al. (2020) discussed the second factor and how “[t]he role of language
in mathematics learning and teaching is undeniably crucial” (p. 473). The language
comprehension factor should not be mistaken for struggles encountered when learning a
new language, as with English language learners. Researchers define language
comprehension as “the ability to attribute semantic meaning to spoken words, […] word
definitions, or listening comprehension” (Melby-Lervåg & Lervåg, 2014, p. 410). In simple
terms, language comprehension is the ability of a student to understand the meaning of
written and spoken words. Kuzmina et al. (2019) gave “[a]s an example, languages with
more inconsistent spelling-sound correspondence, such as English, show a longer and
larger effect of phonological ability on reading (e.g., Torgesen et al., 1997)” (p. 655).
Students with limited English language skills are more likely to struggle to comprehend
mathematical word problems. As Trakulphadetkrai et al. (2020) discussed, “Typically,
pupils are expected to choose and collate relevant information from the problem, and to
use them to solve the problem. Making sense of mathematical word problems can thus
present a challenge for EAL learners whose command of English language is still
developing” (p. 477). For instance, students with a language deficit, who are provided with
oral accommodations on daily math assignments, where teachers read math problems
aloud, tend to do much better than students attempting to do work on their own. Again,
when adequate language acquisition is not evident, the comprehension process stops
growing.
Reading comprehension
The difficulties mentioned above are usually connected to the reading comprehension
factor (see Table 1), since it is a factor that affects all academic areas. Elementary teachers
are often so committed to working on students’ reading fluency that sometimes focusing
on reading comprehension seems irrelevant. According to research, “Murphy and Unthiah
(2015) suggest that weaker reading comprehension skills may in part be responsible for
lower levels of academic achievement among EAL learners” (in Trakulphadetkrai et al.,
2020, p.476). Unfortunately, weaker reading comprehension skills delay the growth of
reading comprehension. Some educators might argue that reading comprehension
difficulties mostly occur in the lower grades, yet this is not always the case. These issues
are not just occurring in elementary settings; surprisingly, they continue throughout the
secondary level. When students become older, comprehension difficulty increases as texts
become more complex; one cannot assume that age equals background knowledge.
Students might not have the schema needed to piece together texts. Anselmo et al. (2017)
noted that “[a]lthough secondary curricula consist of content and skills that are more
complex, students must have a strong foundation of basic skills to succeed” (p. 1149).
This, of course, leads to issues for young adults’ access to higher education or better
career opportunities. The three factors mentioned above, all correlate with the research by
Swanson et al. (2019) that explained problem translation.
Problem translation
When students do not have the solid foundation of phonological processing and language
and reading comprehension, the problem translation factor becomes a struggle for
students. Swanson et al. (2019) explained: “[p]roblem translation is a comprehension task
in which the word problem (in either oral or written format) is used to construct a text
base” (p. 69). For instance, problem translation can be as simple as a teacher asking a
student “what are they asking you for in this word problem?” When the student can
decipher that he/she needs to either multiply, divide, add, or subtract and does it
correctly, they have a well-nourished problem translation skill. Moreover, researchers
showed “difficulties in arithmetic were associated with the development of reading ability”
(Light & De Fries, 1995 quoted in Özcan & Do an, 2018, p.8). Again, if students cannot
comprehend what is being asked in a word problem, then question interpretation becomes
an issue; thus, comprehension becomes unlikely. If students struggle with basic language
acquisition, it is even more difficult for them to understand the language of the
mathematics discipline. Stoffelsma and Spooren (2019) discussed how “the relatively
recent research focus on disciplinary literacy […] has produced strong evidence of a positive
relationship between reading proficiency and academic performance in science and
mathematics education” (p. 906). When a student has developed these four factors and
their flowerpot (Figure 2) is thriving, skills, such as excellent fluency and grade-
appropriate reading comprehension, will come naturally, and he/she can apply these skills
in order to excel, not only in mathematics, but in all content-areas.
Discussion
Lingering issues
There are four lingering issues in this area of study. The issues pertain to the lack of using
a combination of reading components and/or strategies to improve math performance
with a focus on interventions and strategies for second-language learners; more research
about high school and university levels, and also other content-areas is still needed.
Fortunately, there are ways to help most students who struggle with comprehension. Best
practices, interventions, and overall good teaching habits can help students who are
unfortunately doing poorly in their mathematics’ courses because of undeveloped
comprehension skills.
First, in order to improve mathematics performance, educators need to take into

consideration the native language factor. Researchers’ found that “language predicted each
of the WP outcomes substantially and significantly more strongly than the contrasting
mathematics outcome involving pure calculations” (Fuchs et al., 2018, p. 161). Second-
language learners are expected to understand word problems as native speakers; yet, they
may lack the vocabulary in their native language. The task of comprehending a word
problem is challenging,
... for struggling readers as they face additional cognitive demands that proficient readers
do not have. When reading word problems, struggling readers are asked to
simultaneously decode text, already an area of difficulty, while comprehending and
relating these words to mathematics (MacDonald & Banes, 2017, p. 26).
Difficulties like the one mentioned above, make student comprehension even more
complex; therefore, more research on second-language learners and reading
comprehension and its effect on maths is a necessity.
Additionally, it was found that more research at the elementary and middle school levels
has been done compared to secondary and higher education levels. During the literature
searches for this review, there were no sources found regarding high school reading
comprehension and mathematics performance. Some sources related to the topic were
about university-level students; again, only one of these sources could be used for this
literature review. Since the research documents the necessity of reading in all core-
subjects, further research at high school and university settings is still needed. Finally,
learning and cognitive disabilities connected to reading comprehension and mathematics
performance have been overlooked in the research. The authors noticed that there is no
mention concerning disabilities in most of the literature reviewed; this is a crucial
component of learning and is a large population that lacks further study. Since all research
analysed in this review demonstrated the basis of reading skills in academic success, the
recommendation is that future studies focus on reading comprehension and maths
performance in school settings.
Conclusion
The purpose of this literature review was to analyse the existing research about reading
comprehension and its effects on mathematics performance in elementary and middle
school settings. The literature shows that “[s]chool readiness of a child requires
competence in areas of development,” and it is undeniable that “[i]nefficiency in one of
the development areas negatively affects a child’s school readiness” (Özcan & Do an,
2018, p.8). It is imperative that all teachers understand the importance of incorporating
reading comprehension skills into all core-subjects. Without comprehension, students
cannot successfully complete class assignments nor become critical thinkers. Reading skills
are vital in comprehending text in mathematical word problems. Trakulphadetkrai et al.
(2020) concluded that students need
... good knowledge of everyday vocabulary as mathematical problem solving has become
increasingly more grounded in everyday contexts. Potential confusion arises when the
boundary between these two types of language becomes blurry” (p.473).
It does not matter if a student has a summer job as a cashier or eventually becomes a civil
engineer; maths and reading complement each other. Thus, both sets of skills are
necessary for any individual. It is necessary for teachers to provide students with strategies
“to help lessen the cognitive demand of word problems,” and “educational equity for our
struggling readers in order for them to reach standards and use these skills in the real
world” (MacDonald & Banes, 2017, p. 26). Mathematics is not just about numbers or
simple maths operations; reading comprehension is needed to make connections and
solve real-world problems. It is time to, little by little, diminish the negative connotations
that students have about reading and that many math teachers have towards incorporating
reading skills. As educators, parents, and members of the community, it is essential for us
to implement reading skills in our daily lives; reading is a necessary, life-long skill that ties
into all areas of life, even mathematics.
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Anna L. Gomez is currently in her seventh year of teaching English language arts in a
low-income school in South Texas. She holds a bachelors degree in bilingual education
EC-6 from Texas A&M International University; in addition, she completed a masters
degree in school counselling in 2019 at the same university.
Email: annagomez@dusty.tamiu.edu
Elena D. Pecina completed a bachelors degree in Bilingual Education EC-6 at Texas

A&M International University in Laredo, Texas. In 2019, she obtained a masters degree
in school counselling. She is currently in her fifth year of teaching mathematics at the
elementary level and her seventh year of teaching experience.
Email: elena.pecina@dusty.tamiu.edu
Sara Abi Villanueva will be earning a masters degree in special education with a
concentration in reading this December from Texas A&M International in Laredo,
Texas. She has worked as a secondary English teacher for 14 years. Her areas of research
include twice-exceptional students, equitable literacy education, and GCED (Global
Citizenship Education).
Email: sarabicano@dusty.tamiu.edu
Tonya Huber PhD has edited eight books and authored two, more than 125 refereed
articles, chapters, and reference book entries, and more than 160 invited recurring
newspaper columns, features in university publications, and journal editorials. Professor
Huber is committed to critical inquiry, Education 2030 and Freire’s liberatory pedagogy.
Email: tonya.huber@tamiu.edu
Please cite as: Gomez, A. L., Pecina, E. D., Villanueva, S. A. & Huber, T. (2020). The
undeniable relationship between reading comprehension and mathematics performance.
Issues in Educational Research, 30(4), 1329-1354. http://www.iier.org.au/iier30/gomez.pdf

The Undeniable Relationship Between Reading Comprehension and Mathematics Performance

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The Undeniable Relationship Between Reading Comprehension and Mathematics Performance

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Issues in Educational Research, 30(4), 2020 1329

The undeniable relationship between reading

[m]athematics teachers could develop an understanding of what factors make reading

Even when math teachers understand the importance of reading comprehension in

The purpose of this literature review is to identify how reading comprehension

Positioning the researchers

As educators, we have experienced how reading comprehension plays an important role in

Professor of educational research

Language diversity and mathematics

Table 1: Terms and definitions related to reading comprehension and academic

Term Definition Reference

Table 2: Common names and acronyms for English learners

Term Definition Reference

following terms were used, “science” AND “reading comprehension” AND

Table 3: Audit trail

Dates Sources Relevant Author

13 Google 2014- “math word problems” AND 47 1 MacDonald & Banes

Region: Not mentioned

Table 5: Strengths, weaknesses and gaps found in the literature

This literature review on how reading comprehension is linked to mathematics

Figure 1: Factors that impact maths performance

The first factor, phonological processing, is a concept, which is confusing even to

for readers to understand phonological processing, the lead researchers created a

Flowers represent phonological

Roots represent phonological

Figure 2: Phonological processing visual

Therefore, whenever readers lack phonological processing skills, reading comprehension

First, in order to improve mathematics performance, educators need to take into

MacDonald, L. R. & Banes, L. C. (2017). More than words: Struggling reader's

Elena D. Pecina completed a bachelors degree in Bilingual Education EC-6 at Texas

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