scholarly journals Executive function and academic achievement: Longitudinal relations from early childhood to adolescence.

2019 ◽  
Vol 111 (3) ◽  
pp. 446-458 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sammy F. Ahmed ◽  
Sandra Tang ◽  
Nicholas E. Waters ◽  
Pamela Davis-Kean
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexa Ellis ◽  
Sammy F. Ahmed ◽  
Selin Zeytinoglu ◽  
Elif Isbell ◽  
Susan D. Calkins ◽  
...  

The goal of the current study was to conduct a conceptual replication of the reciprocal associations between executive function (EF) and academic achievement reported in Schmitt et al. (2017). Using two independent samples (N (STAR) = 279, and N (Pathways) = 277), we examined whether the patterns of associations between EF and achievement across preschool and kindergarten reported in Schmitt et al. (2017) replicated using the same model specifications, similar EF and achievement measures, and across a similar developmental age period. Consistent with original findings, EF predicted subsequent math achievement in both samples. Specifically, in the STAR sample, EF predicted math achievement from preschool to kindergarten, and kindergarten to first grade. In the Pathways sample, EF at kindergarten predicted both math and literacy achievement in first grade. However, contrary to the original findings, we were unable to replicate the bidirectional associations between math achievement and EF in either of the replication samples. Overall, the current conceptual replication has revealed that bidirectional associations between EF and academic skills might not be robust to slight differences in EF measures and number of measurement occasions, which has implications for our understanding of the development EF and academic skills across early childhood. The present findings underscore the need for more standardization in both measurement and modeling approaches – without which the inconsistency of findings in published studies may continue across this area of research.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sammy F. Ahmed ◽  
Sandra Tang ◽  
Nicholas E Waters ◽  
Pamela Davis-Kean

Data from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care (N = 1273) were analyzed to assess the longitudinal relations among executive function (EF) components in early childhood (54 months) and adolescence (15 years) and their prediction of academic achievement. We found that after controlling for early achievement, demographic and home environment variables, only working memory at 54 months significantly predicted working memory at 15 years and that working memory was the only significant EF predictor of achievement at age 15. In contrast, all early achievement measures were significant predictors of later achievement. Further, no demographic or home environment variables at 54 months significantly predicted EF at 15, and only maternal education significantly explained variance in adolescent math and literacy achievement. These findings demonstrate the predictability of working memory and highlight its importance for academic outcomes across development. However, the lack of associations of preschool inhibition and attention measures, after controlling for early achievement, demographic and home environment variables, to corresponding measures in adolescence suggests the need for more developmentally sensitive measures of EF. Given that the EF measures used in this study are commonly used in educational and psychological research, more care should go into understanding the psychometric properties across development.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 453-472 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexa Ellis ◽  
Sammy F. Ahmed ◽  
Selin Zeytinoglu ◽  
Elif Isbell ◽  
Susan D. Calkins ◽  
...  

The goal of the current study was to conduct a conceptual replication of the reciprocal associations between executive function (EF) and academic achievement reported in Schmitt et al. (2017, https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000193). Using two independent samples (N (STAR) = 279, and N (Pathways) = 277), we examined whether the patterns of associations between EF and achievement across preschool and kindergarten reported in Schmitt et al. (2017) replicated using the same model specifications, similar EF and achievement measures, and across a similar developmental age period. Consistent with original findings, EF predicted subsequent math achievement in both samples. Specifically, in the STAR sample, EF predicted math achievement from preschool to kindergarten, and kindergarten to first grade. In the Pathways sample, EF at kindergarten predicted both math and literacy achievement in first grade. However, contrary to the original findings, we were unable to replicate the bidirectional associations between math achievement and EF in either of the replication samples. Overall, the current conceptual replication has revealed that bidirectional associations between EF and academic skills might not be robust to slight differences in EF measures and number of measurement occasions, which has implications for our understanding of the development EF and academic skills across early childhood. The present findings underscore the need for more standardization in both measurement and modeling approaches – without which the inconsistency of findings in published studies may continue across this area of research.


Author(s):  
Catherine Davies ◽  
Alexandra Hendry ◽  
Shannon P. Gibson ◽  
Teodora Gliga ◽  
Michelle McGillion ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 62 (6) ◽  
pp. 884-906
Author(s):  
Lilla K. Pivnick

Drawing on ecological systems and social capital perspectives, this study uses the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study–Birth Cohort to investigate links between early nonparental caregiver beliefs about early academic skills and children’s math and reading achievement in kindergarten with special attention to the children from Latino/a immigrant households. Regression analyses revealed that nonparental caregiver beliefs were associated with academic achievement at kindergarten entry and that types of alignment or misalignment between nonparental caregiver and parental beliefs were differentially associated with math achievement but not reading. Notably, the association between nonparental caregiver beliefs and children’s academic achievement was more consequential for children from Latino/a immigrant households. Results suggest that having nonparental caregivers with low early academic skills beliefs may be especially detrimental for children from Latino/a immigrant households.


2007 ◽  
Vol 78 (6) ◽  
pp. 1855-1869 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Pascal Lemelin ◽  
Michel Boivin ◽  
Nadine Forget-Dubois ◽  
Ginette Dionne ◽  
Jean R. Séguin ◽  
...  

2016 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
pp. 359-372 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael T. Willoughby ◽  
Brooke Magnus ◽  
Lynne Vernon-Feagans ◽  
Clancy B. Blair ◽  

Substantial evidence has established that individual differences in executive function (EF) in early childhood are uniquely predictive of children’s academic readiness at school entry. The current study tested whether growth trajectories of EF across the early childhood period could be used to identify a subset of children who were at pronounced risk for academic impairment in kindergarten. Using data that were collected at the age 3, 4, and 5 home assessments in the Family Life Project ( N = 1,120), growth mixture models were used to identify 9% of children who exhibited impaired EF performance (i.e., persistently low levels of EF that did not show expected improvements across time). Compared to children who exhibited typical trajectories of EF, the delayed group exhibited substantial impairments in multiple indicators of academic readiness in kindergarten (Cohen’s ds = 0.9–2.7; odds ratios = 9.8–23.8). Although reduced in magnitude following control for a range of socioeconomic and cognitive (general intelligence screener, receptive vocabulary) covariates, moderate-sized group differences remained (Cohen’s ds = 0.2–2.4; odds ratios = 3.9–5.4). Results are discussed with respect to the use of repeated measures of EF as a method of early identification, as well as the resulting translational implications of doing so.


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