The low socioeconomic background is a potential threat to children's language comprehension.

Yet language comprehension is a crucial skill as far as children's academic performance is

concerned particularly in technical subjects like mathematics. There are many ways in which
Low socio-economic background influences student's math understanding, however, the main
way is through the influence of vocabulary knowledge*. Research depicts that children from
low socio-economic backgrounds differ from their colleagues from a high-socio-economic
background in the terms of language learning opportunities*. The low level of vocabulary that
exists in children of low socio-economic backgrounds in turn influences reading understanding
and dictates the math academic performance. The relationship between vocabulary and math
performance is widely documented in children of elementary grades. However, little research
has been done on vocabulary understanding and math performance specifically on middle
school children from the low socio-economic background. Therefore, this dissertation seeks to
examine the effect of vocabulary and understanding in low achieving middle school students
from low socio-economic backgrounds. Some studies argue that language vocabulary skills are
related to mathematical skills. Another study found out that oral language skill also plays a
great deal in predicting math performance in elementary children*.

Multiple types of research examining the relationship

between English and math academic performance shows that children store

numerical information in their brain as words and not digits and thus this

implicates vocabularies in math knowledge*. Additionally, since the common mode

of teaching is orally delivered, children should comprehend words during lessons

to grasp as many vocabularies as possible. In essence, in a fourth-grade class,

a teacher may teach math lessons involving addition, subtraction, division, and

multiplication. Thus, to pass exams in these subjects children must understand

terms like addition, subtraction, division, and multiplication. If a child does

not understand these terms, the child will likely struggle with math exams if

the child is no conversant with the vocabulary. Another research applauds the

importance of vocabulary in the math performance of middle school children.

Illustrating this argument* states that vocabulary is a significant predictor

of early math skills such as number order and number identification among
others.

Researchers agree that understanding vocabularies helps

children to construct meaning whereby children integrate information from the

reading material as well as their knowledge of word meaning. Knowledge of vocabulary affects
the way a child reads and understands the content. In support of this argument, another study
* indicates that a child's understanding of a text is affected if a child is not conversant with the
vocabularies used. This study further suggests that vocabulary understanding for children
coming from

the low socio-economic background is a result of cumulative differences that exist in the
acquisition of vocabulary between children from the low socio-economic background and those
from the high socio-economic background.

Children from low socio-economic backgrounds do not have high exposure as children

from high-socio economic backgrounds especially regarding English language and

vocabularies because of the material resources available among children of high

socio-economic background. Importantly, the knowledge of vocabulary plays a great deal in

how effectively a child processes a sentence and this processing of sentence information affects
how fluently a child reads a passage or a

question.

Problem Statement

National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)

reports low performance in technical subjects including math. Most of the low graders are
children from low socio-economic backgrounds, African American and Hispanic children. NAEP
attributes the low performance to many factors including lack of resources and many others.
However, there have been many

strategies put in place to help children from these backgrounds to improve. For

instance, some schools in some states like Florida have supported initiatives

to provide meals to these students but the problem persists. Therefore, the

persistence of this problem means that something else could be the problem.

This study argues that since math vocabulary is special words that label math
concepts, it is possible that if children do not understand language vocabulary

used in texts, word problems, and teaching, then it will be difficult for

children to pass mathematical questions. This study emphasizes that low

vocabulary among children in middle school explains the reason for low math performance
especially among children from a low socio-economic background.

Little studies have been done on this topic, therefore, it is given this gap

that this study is designed to explore the effect of vocabulary on low

achievers and understanding in low achieving middle school students from the

low socio-economic background.

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this proposed study is to create a

learning environment and its potential impact on the reinforcement of

terminology and symbols for low achieving students in math. The qualitative

research study is to provide a consensus about the outcome learning environment

and its potential impact on student's understanding of mathematical terms and

word problems. The research seeks to further the premise that the terminology

of math has an impact on student's success in future math courses.

This study aims to contribute new scholarly knowledge

about the potential impact and terminology understanding of low achieving

students when solving math equations. Prior work suggests that fadeout effects

(i.e., the finding that mathematics intervention treatment effects often

diminish over time once the intervention has been complete) may be attributable

to preexisting differences (e.g., language; prior mathematics knowledge)

between students in treatment and control groups (Bailey et al., 2016).

Objectives of the Study

This dissertation proposal will be guided by the

following four objectives;

1. To determine if any school has consistently

2. eliminated the achievement gap during the middle school years from 6th to
3. 8th grade?
4. To determine if any schools been able to
5. consistently reduce the achievement gap, as measured by proficiency, for
6. students in middle school?
7. To establish if any schools been able to both
8. consistently close the achievement gap and simultaneously improve their
9. weakest students' performance in mathematics in middle school?
10. To establish if any schools showed achievement
11. gap closure across key demographic groups like African American, Hispanic,
12. or low-income

Research Questions

1. Has any school consistently eliminated the achievement gap during the middle school
years from 6th to 8th grade?
2. Have any schools been able to consistently reduce the achievement gap, as measured
by proficiency, for students in middle school?
3. Have any schools been able to both consistently close the achievement gap and
simultaneously improve their weakest students' performance in mathematics in middle
school?
4. Have any schools shown achievement gap closure across key demographic groups –
African American, Hispanic, or low-income?

Research Hypothesis

This dissertation will be guided by five (4) hypotheses;

HO: There is no relationship between middle school

children's level of vocabulary and math performance

HA: There is a relationship between middle school's

children level of vocabulary and math performance

HO: There is no difference between vocabulary and

the understanding between the children in low socio-economic status and those in

high socio-economic status.

HA: There is a difference between vocabulary and

the understanding between the children in low socio-economic status and those in

high socio-economic status.