Editing Working memory (section)

== Role in academic achievement ==
Working memory capacity is correlated with learning outcomes in literacy and numeracy. Initial evidence for this relation comes from the correlation between working-memory capacity and reading comprehension, as first observed by Daneman and Carpenter (1980)<ref>{{Cite journal|title = Individual differences in working memory and reading|journal = Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior|date = 1980-08-01|pages = 450–466|volume = 19|issue = 4|doi = 10.1016/S0022-5371(80)90312-6| vauthors = Daneman M, Carpenter PA | s2cid=144899071 }}</ref> and confirmed in a later meta-analytic review of several studies.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Daneman M, Merikle PM | title = Working memory and language comprehension: A meta-analysis | journal = Psychonomic Bulletin & Review | volume = 3 | issue = 4 | pages = 422–433 | date = December 1996 | pmid = 24213976 | doi = 10.3758/BF03214546 | doi-access = free }}</ref> Subsequent work found that working memory performance in primary school children accurately predicted performance in mathematical problem solving.<ref>{{Cite journal| vauthors = Swanson HL, Beebe-Frankenberger M |year=2004|title=The Relationship Between Working Memory and Mathematical Problem Solving in Children at Risk and Not at Risk for Serious Math Difficulties|journal=Journal of Educational Psychology|volume=96|issue=3|pages=471–491|doi=10.1037/0022-0663.96.3.471}}</ref> One longitudinal study showed that a child's working memory at 5 years old is a better predictor of academic success than IQ.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Alloway TP, Alloway RG | title = Investigating the predictive roles of working memory and IQ in academic attainment | journal = Journal of Experimental Child Psychology | volume = 106 | issue = 1 | pages = 20–29 | date = May 2010 | pmid = 20018296 | doi = 10.1016/j.jecp.2009.11.003 | hdl-access = free | s2cid = 13854871 | hdl = 20.500.11820/8a871fe8-5117-4a4b-8d6c-74277e9a79e1 | url = https://www.research.ed.ac.uk/en/publications/8a871fe8-5117-4a4b-8d6c-74277e9a79e1 }}</ref>

A randomized controlled study of 580 children in Germany indicated that working memory training at age six had a significant positive effect in spatial working memory immediately after training, and that the effect gradually transferred to other areas, with significant and meaningful increases in reading comprehension, mathematics (geometry), and IQ (measured by Raven matrices). Additionally, a marked increase in ability to inhibit impulses was detected in the follow-up after one year, measured as a higher score in the [[Go/no go#Psychology|Go-No Go task]]. Four years after the treatment, the effects persisted and was captured as a 16 percentage point higher acceptance rate to the academic track (German Gymnasium), as compared to the control group.<ref name=":4" />

In a large-scale screening study, one in ten children in mainstream classrooms were identified with working memory deficits. The majority of them performed very poorly in academic achievements, independent of their IQ.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Alloway TP, Gathercole SE, Kirkwood H, Elliott J | title = The cognitive and behavioral characteristics of children with low working memory | journal = Child Development | volume = 80 | issue = 2 | pages = 606–621 | year = 2009 | pmid = 19467014 | doi = 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2009.01282.x | hdl-access = free | hdl = 1893/978 | s2cid = 14481660 }}</ref> Similarly, working memory deficits have been identified in national curriculum low-achievers as young as seven years of age.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Gathercole SE, Pickering SJ | title = Working memory deficits in children with low achievements in the national curriculum at 7 years of age | journal = The British Journal of Educational Psychology | volume = 70 | issue = 2 | pages = 177–194 | date = June 2000 | pmid = 10900777 | doi = 10.1348/000709900158047 }}</ref> Without appropriate intervention, these children lag behind their peers. A recent study of 37 school-age children with significant learning disabilities has shown that working memory capacity at baseline measurement, but not IQ, predicts learning outcomes two years later.<ref>{{Cite journal| vauthors = Alloway TP |year=2009 |journal=European Journal of Psychological Assessment |volume=25 |issue=2 |pages=92–8 |doi=10.1027/1015-5759.25.2.92 |title=Working Memory, but Not IQ, Predicts Subsequent Learning in Children with Learning Difficulties|hdl=1893/1005 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> This suggests that working memory impairments are associated with low learning outcomes and constitute a high risk factor for educational underachievement for children. In children with learning disabilities such as [[dyslexia]], [[ADHD]], and developmental coordination disorder, a similar pattern is evident.<ref>{{cite book | vauthors = Pickering SJ |chapter=Working memory in dyslexia |pages=7–40 | veditors = Alloway TP, Gathercole SE | title = Working memory and neurodevelopmental disorders | publisher = Psychology Press | year = 2006 | location = New York, NY | isbn = 978-1-84169-560-0 |oclc =   63692704 |doi=10.4324/9780203013403 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | vauthors = Wagner RK, Muse A |chapter=Short-term memory deficits in developmental dyslexia |pages=41–57 | veditors = Alloway TP, Gathercole SE  | title = Working memory and neurodevelopmental disorders | publisher = Psychology Press | year = 2006 | location = New York, NY | isbn = 978-1-84169-560-0 |oclc =  63692704 |doi=10.4324/9780203013403 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | vauthors = Roodenrys S |chapter=Working memory function in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder |pages=187–212 | veditors = Alloway TP, Gathercole SE  | title = Working memory and neurodevelopmental disorders | publisher =  Psychology Press | year =  2006 | location = New York, NY | isbn = 978-1-84169-560-0 |oclc =   63692704 |doi=10.4324/9780203013403 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | vauthors = Alloway TP |chapter=Working memory skills in children with developmental coordination disorder |pages=161–185 | veditors = Alloway TP, Gathercole SE | title = Working memory and neurodevelopmental disorders | publisher =  Psychology Press | year =  2006 | location = New York, NY | isbn = 978-1-84169-560-0 |oclc =   63692704 |doi=10.4324/9780203013403 }}</ref>