A meta-analysis of the relation between RAN and mathematics.

Abstract

Several studies have shown that rapid automatized naming (RAN) is a significant predictor of mathematics, but the nature of their relationship remains elusive. Thus, the purpose of this meta-analysis was to estimate the size of their relationship and determine the conditions under which they correlate. We used a random-effects model analysis of data from 38 studies (33 unique samples, 151 correlations, 7,135 participants) to examine the size of the RAN-mathematics relationship and the role of different moderators (i.e., math measure and variable, type of RAN task, math age, study design, and sample characteristics). The results showed a significant correlation between RAN and mathematics (r ϭ .37; 95% confidence interval ) as well as a large heterogeneity of individual correlations. The results also revealed that RAN produced stronger correlations with arithmetic calculation tasks than with general achievement tests; stronger correlations with single-digit calculation tasks than multidigit calculation tasks; and stronger correlations with math fluency tasks than math accuracy tasks. The effect of these moderators suggests that part of the reason why RAN predicts mathematics is that they both require quick access to and retrieval of phonological representations from long-term memory. Our findings also suggest that RAN objects or colors can be used as early predictors of mathematical skill, especially of arithmetic fluency.

General and Specific Contributions of RAN to Reading and Arithmetic Fluency in First Graders: A Longitudinal Latent Variable Approach

“…Rapid automatized naming is the ability to name a sequence of highly familiar visual stimuli such as colors, letters, and digits as fast as possible ( Denckla and Rudel, 1974 ). Most of the existing studies on RAN focused either on its relation with academic outcomes, such as reading ability ( Araújo et al, 2015 , for a meta-analysis; Kirby et al, 2010 ; Norton and Wolf, 2012 , for a review; Papadopoulos et al, 2016 ; for a review, Siddaiah and Padakannaya, 2015 ) and mathematics, especially arithmetic fluency ( Hecht et al, 2001 ; Koponen et al, 2013 , 2017 ; Foster et al, 2015 ; Cui et al, 2017 ) or on its underlying domain-general components (e.g., articulation time and pause time, Neuhaus et al, 2001a ; Araújo et al, 2011 ). A remaining question is whether a range of different RAN tasks is best represented by a single component or/and by several specific components.…”

Exploring mechanisms of rapid automatized naming to arithmetic skills in Chinese primary schoolers

“…Cumulative evidence have shown that RAN is a significant predictor of arithmetic skills in both cross‐sectional (Koponen, Aunola, Ahonen, & Nurmi, 2007) and longitudinal studies (Geary, 2011; Georgiou et al, 2013). A recent meta‐analysis (Koponen et al, 2017) also reported a moderate correlation between RAN and arithmetic performance in general ( r = .37), the effect size of which is comparable to that of the relation between RAN and literacy (Araújo et al, 2015). However, the existing literature has two notable limitations.…”

“…Rapid automatized naming (RAN), the cognitive capacity to name as fast as possible highly familiar visual stimuli (e.g., digits, colors, objects, and letters; Denckla & Cutting, 1999), is associated with children's reading skills (see Araújo, Reis, Petersson, & Faísca, 2015 for a review). Recent studies have shown that RAN is also closely related to children's arithmetic performance (e.g., Cui et al, 2017; Georgiou, Tziraki, Manolitsis, & Fella, 2013; Koponen, Georgiou, Salmi, Leskinen, & Aro, 2017; Koponen, Salmi, Eklund, & Aro, 2013). Because arithmetic consists of different subskills, it remains unclear whether RAN will predict all individual aspects of arithmetic skills and what cognitive processes may explain the aforementioned relations.…”

“…Failure to become proficient in mathematic skills represents a major academic obstacle for children and is related to risks for anxiety, internalizing problems, and other socioemotional maladjustment (Lauer, Esposito, & Bauer, 2018; Passiatore et al, 2017). Given that RAN has been shown as a robust predictor of children's arithmetic performance (Cui et al, 2017; Georgiou et al, 2013; Koponen et al, 2017), the underlying mechanisms that may account for the relation between RAN and arithmetic performance remain unclear. Thus, exploring the mechanisms through which RAN can be predictive of children's arithmetic performance may contribute to understanding the associations between RAN and arithmetic skills.…”

Cognitive Research and Mathematics Education—How Can Basic Research Reach the Classroom?

“…On the other hand, meta-analyses of more basic research include synthesized results on the association of numerical and spatial cognition (Hawes et al, 2019); magnitude understanding (Vanbinst and De Smedt, 2016;Sokolowski et al, 2017); rapid automatized naming (Koponen et al, 2017); specific brain regions associated with numerical cognition (Yeo et al, 2017); specific numerical processes (Arsalidou et al, 2018); specific cognitive functions (Peng et al, 2016); different numerical representations (Schneider et al, 2017); and genetic influences (Chen et al, 2017;King et al, 2019).…”