Genes Mostly Determine How Successful Your Kids Will Be
Forget that pricey tutor – kids may already be born with what they need to succeed in school.
A new study published in Science of Learning found that genes predominately influence children’s academic achievement from primary school to high school.
Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin and King’s College London studied test scores of 6,000 twins and found that students who did well in elementary school continued to do well until their high school graduation. They found that differences in genes contributed to their success, followed by environment (25 percent) and their non-shared environment, like different educators (5 percent).
“Around two-thirds of individual differences in school achievement are explained by differences in children’s DNA,” Margherita Malanchini, a psychology Ph.D. student at the The University of Texas, wrote in a press release. “But less is known about how these factors contribute to an individual’s academic success over time.”
DNA doesn’t guarantee long-term success. The study found that 40 percent of the participants’ academic achievement was caused by non-genetic factors.
“Academic achievement is driven by a range of cognitive and noncognitive traits,” Malanchini said. “Previously, studies have linked it to personality, behavioral problems, motivation, health and many other factors that are partly heritable.”
