An Analysis of Cattell-Horn-Carroll Cognitive Abilities Relating to Academic Achievement among Students in Grades First through Fifth

Relations between cognitive abilities and areas of achievement were analyzed in a review of archival data study. The participants in this study were students from grades 1 through 5 who were referred for an initial psycho-educational evaluation due to academic concerns by their school staff or by their parents and were identified as students with a Specific Learning Disability. Subtests from the Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Cognitive Abilities (WJ III COG) and the Batería III Woodcock-Muñoz: Pruebas de habilidades cognitivas (Batería III COG) and Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Achievement (WJ III ACH) and Batería III Woodcock-Muñoz: Pruebas de aprovechamiento (Batería III ACH) were analyzed for their contribution to basic reading, reading comprehension, math calculation, math reasoning, and written expression ability. The present study examined 684 records of student who met the inclusion criteria. The participants included 386 males (56.4%) and 298 females (43.6%). The ethnic distribution of the sample was: Hispanic (n = 470, 68.7%), African American (n = 200, 29.2%), and White (n = 14, 2.0%). Students included in this study were enrolled in grades 1 (6.3%), 2 (19%), 3 (25.9%), 4 (28.5%), and 5 (20.3%). Students identified as Limited English Proficient accounted for 46.2% of the sample. Multiple regressions were used to examine cognitive and achievement relations. Results indicated that the best predictors for Basic Reading for students assessed in English were Associative Memory (MA), Phonetic Coding 1 (PC), and Perceptual Speed 1 (P) and for students assessed in Spanish were Working Memory (MW), Perceptual Speed 1 (P), and Lexical Knowledge (VL). Results indicated that the best predictors for Reading Comprehension for students assessed in English were Associative Memory (MA), Lexical Knowledge (VL), Phonetic Coding 1 (PC), and Memory Span (MS) and in Spanish were Lexical Knowledge (VL), Perceptual Speed 1 (P), Associative Memory (MA), and Phonetic Coding1 (PC). Results indicated that the best predictors for Math Calculation for students assessed in English when controlling for LEP were Perceptual Speed 1 (P), General Sequential Reasoning (RG), Perceptual Speed 2 (P), Ideational Fluency (FI), Visualization (Vz), and Lexical Knowledge (VL) and in Spanish were Working Memory (MW), Perceptual Speed 1 (P), and Visualization (Vz). Results indicated that the best predictors for Math Reasoning for students assessed in English when controlling for LEP were General Sequential Reasoning (RG) Lexical Knowledge (VL), Perceptual Speed 1 (P), Visualization (Vz), Working Memory (MW), and Phonetic Coding 1 (PC) and in Spanish were Lexical Knowledge (VL), Working Memory (MW), Visual Memory (MV), Perceptual Speed 1 (P), and General Sequential Reasoning (RG). Results indicated that the best predictors for Written Expression for students assessed in English when controlling for LEP were Lexical Knowledge (VL), Perceptual Speed 1 (P), Phonetic Coding 1 (PC), Associative Memory (MA), and General Sequential Reasoning (RG) and in Spanish were Perceptual Speed 1 (P), Phonetic Coding 1 (PC), Associative Memory (MA), and General Sequential Reasoning (RG). Moreover, the predictive worth of cognitive abilities on academic outcomes is evidenced by the significant relations between cognitive variables and academic factors in a sample of students with learning disabilities.