This study assessed 562 four-year-old children at the beginning and end of their prekindergarten (pre-k) year and followed them to the end of kindergarten. At each time point children were assessed on 6 measures of executive function (EF) and 5 subtests of the Woodcock-Johnson III academic achievement battery. Exploratory factor analyses yielded EF and achievement factor scores. We examined the longitudinal bidirectional associations between these domains as well as the bidirectional associations among the separate content areas and the EF factor. In the pre-k year, strong bidirectional associations were found for EF skills and mathematics and oral comprehension skills but not for literacy skills. After controlling for pre-k gains in both EF and achievement, EF skills continued to be strong predictors of gains in mathematics in kindergarten and a more moderate predictor of kindergarten language gains. These results provide important information on the interrelationship of the developmental domains of EF and achievement as well as support for efforts to determine effective pre-k activities and/or curricula that can improve children's EF skills. They also suggest that mathematics activities may be a possible avenue for improving EF skills in young children.

Although research suggests associations between children's executive function skills and their academic achievement, the specific mechanisms that may help explain these associations in early childhood are unclear. This study examined whether children's (N = 1,103; M age = 54.5 months) executive function skills at the beginning of prekindergarten (pre-K) predict their learning-related behaviors in the classroom and whether these behaviors then mediate associations between children's executive function skills and their pre-K literacy, language, and mathematic gains. Learning-related behaviors were quantified in terms of (a) higher levels of involvement in learning opportunities; (b) greater frequency of participation in activities that require sequential steps; (c) more participation in social-learning interactions; and (d) less instances of being unoccupied, disruptive, or in time out. Results indicated that children's learning-related behaviors mediated associations between executive function skills and literacy and mathematics gains through children's level of involvement, sequential learning behaviors, and disengagement from the classroom. The implications of the findings for early childhood education are discussed.

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An accumulating body of evidence suggests that young children who exhibit greater executive function ing (EF) skills in early childhood also achieve more academically. The goal of the present study was to examine the unique contributions of direct assessments and teacher ratings of children's EF skills at the beginning of prekindergarten (pre-k) to gains in academic achievement over the pre-k year. Data for the current study come from a subsample of children recruited for a large-scale pre-k curriculum interven tion. This subsample (n = 719) was restricted to all children who were native English speakers and had at least 1 pretest and posttest score on the assessments. Several important findings emerged. Teacher reports of EF and direct assessments were correlated, particularly when EF direct assessments were modeled as a single component score. When entered into the models simultaneously, both teacher ratings and direct assessments significantly predicted academic gains in literacy and mathematics; however, the direct assessments were only marginal in predicting gains in language. EF skills accounted for the largest proportion of variance in mathematics achievement gains. The value of using both types of measures in future research is discussed.

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