Meta-Analysis of Twin Studies Highlights Genetic Variation in Primary School Educational Achievement
de Zeeuw, E. L., de Geus, E. J. C., & Boomsma, D. I. · 2015
grade Ctwin-adoptionindependentreplicated
Sample
Up to 5,330 MZ / 7,084 DZ pairs
Population
Primary-school twin samples.
Design
Meta-analysis of twin studies of primary-school achievement, including reading.
Key findings
Anchors the hereditarian premise: reading is ~0.73 heritable and educational achievement ~0.66 by primary school, so the largest slice of reading-outcome variance is genetic. This bounds how far any universal instructional lever can move population RANK ORDER (vs the mean, which instruction clearly moves).
Genetic confound
Genetically-sensitive; anchors the project's premise.
Replication notes
Consistent with the broader twin literature putting reading h2 in the 0.6-0.8 range by school age.
DOI / URL
10.1016/j.tine.2015.06.001
Effects
| Outcome | Metric | Value | Measure | Timing | Vs | Horizon | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading heritability | h2 | ~0.73 | standardized | cross-sectional | none | not-applicable | domain-skill |
| Overall educational achievement heritability | h2 | ~0.66 | standardized | cross-sectional | none | not-applicable | domain-skill |
Cited by
- Systematic/explicit phonics vs whole language and balanced literacystrong supportconf: highgc: low