What’s the Difference? Contributions of Lexical Ambiguity, Reading Comprehension, and Executive Functions to Math Word Problem Solving in Linguistically Diverse 3^rd to 5^th Graders

ABSTRACT

Purpose

Math word problem solving, a form of reading comprehension, is complicated by mathematical lexical ambiguity (e.g., the word difference can mean dissimilarity in everyday discourse but the answer in a subtraction problem in math). This study examined the role of mathematical lexical ambiguity in math word problem solving.

Method

Lexically ambiguous math word knowledge, reading comprehension, vocabulary breadth, executive function (EF) skills, and math word problem solving were assessed in 521 3^rd- to 5^th-grade emergent bilingual (EB) and English monolingual (EM) students.

Results

Students knew fewer math than common meanings of lexically ambiguous math words, and EBs knew fewer meanings than EMs. Multi-group path analysis indicated reading comprehension and lexically ambiguous math word knowledge contributed directly to math word problem solving and partially mediated the influence of EFs on math word problem solving.

Conclusion

Consistent with the language function hypothesis, language skills supported math word problem solving directly and mediated the influence of EF skills on math word problem performance for both EBs and EMs alike. Our findings move the field forward by revealing a specific mechanism by which EF skills contribute to a particular aspect of content area reading comprehension.

Funding

The research reported herein was supported by the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, through Grant R305A160280 to the University of Maryland. The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not represent views of the Institute or the U.S. Department of Education.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. Percentages do not add to 100% due to rounding.

2. In the 2018–19 school year, this state was part of the PARCC consortium. PARCC scores were the states’ high-stakes assessment reported to the US Department of Education as part of the Every Student Succeeds Act.