Influence of reading and calculation on children at risk and not at risk for word problem solving: Is math motivation a mediator?

The purpose of this study was to examine whether two motivational constructs (attitudes/beliefs and effort toward math) acted as mediators between reading or calculation skill and word problem solving accuracy in children with and without math difficulties (MD). The sample consisted of 264 children, separated into children with MD (N = 179) and without MD (N = 85), ages 7 to 10 years (M = 8.06, SD = 0.52; 134 males, 130 females) from 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade classes. The results showed that both reading and calculation skills had direct effects on word problem solving accuracy for both children with and without MD but the two motivational constructs did not mediate this relationship in either group. The results suggest that motivational constructs related to attitudes/beliefs and effort toward math have little meditational influence between basic reading/calculation skills and problem solving accuracy.