An evaluation of the incremental impact of math intervention on early literacy performance

This study examined spring literacy scores among at-risk prekindergarten students exposed to supplemental support solely in literacy or a combination of literacy and math. Propensity scores were used to match students receiving combined support (n = 39) with an equivalent number of students receiving only literacy tutoring. Students were matched using fall math scores and fall literacy scores. After confirming baseline equivalence, we used a multilevel model to evaluate the association between support type and spring literacy scores, controlling for fall literacy scores, fall numeracy scores, and the total number of intervention sessions completed. In addition to a significant and positive association between fall and spring scores, students who received support in both literacy and math scored significantly better on the spring literacy assessment. More specifically, participating in both literacy and math support was associated with a 23.81 increase in spring literacy scores relative to participating in literacy support alone, explaining 5% of the student-level variance.