Executive functioning deficits increase kindergarten children's risk for reading and mathematics difficulties in first grade

Abstract

Whether executive functioning deficits result in children experiencing learning difficulties is presently unclear. Yet evidence for these hypothesized causal relations has many implications for early intervention design and delivery. We used a multi-year panel design, multiple criterion and predictor variable measures, extensive statistical control for potential confounds including autoregressive prior histories of both reading and mathematics difficulties, and additional epidemiological methods to preliminarily examine these hypothesized relations. Results from multivariate logistic regression analyses of a nationally representative and longitudinal sample of 18,080 children (i.e., the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Cohort of 2011, or ECLS-K: 2011) indicated that working memory and, separately, cognitive flexibility deficits uniquely increased kindergarten children’s risk of experiencing reading as well as mathematics difficulties in first grade. The risks associated with working memory deficits were particularly strong. Experimentally-evaluated, multi-component interventions designed to help young children with reading or mathematics difficulties may also need to remediate early deficits in executive function, particularly in working memory.

Factors promoting early interest and preparation in math and science among underresourced students : differences between those who are interested in and prepared in third grade and those who are not

“…While they did not have as great effect sizes as early math and science learning, two variables associated with executive functioning in third grade (teacher report of attentional focus and teacher report of approaches to learning) both had large effect sizes (Cohen's d = 0.76 for both) with regard to the difference between students who were interested and prepared for math and science in third grade versus students who were neither interested nor prepared. This was consistent with the research by Morgan, Li, Farkas, Cook, Pun, and Hillemeier (2017) and Morgan, Farkas, Hillemeier, Pun, and science achievement.…”

“…Executive functioning consisted of "working memory, cognitive flexibility, and inhibitory control" and "positively and significantly predicted reading, mathematics, and science achievement" (Morgan, Farkas, Hillemeier, Pun, and Maczuga, 2018, p. 1). According to Morgan, Li, Farkas, Cook, Pun, and Hillemeier (2017):…”

Kindergarten Children's Executive Functions Predict Their Second‐Grade Academic Achievement and Behavior

“…In contrast, children with less‐developed EF tend to struggle to organize and regulate their learning and behavior (Geary, Hoard, Nugent, & Bailey, ). Consequently, EF may constitute potential targets of early interventions for closing achievement gaps (Blair & Raver, ; Diamond & Lee, ; Gropen et al., ; Morgan et al., ; Viterbori, Usai, Traverso, & De Franchis, ) and for increasing educational opportunities and subsequent well‐being (Moffitt et al., ). Children's EF are considered “inherently malleable” through school‐based interventions (Blair, , p. 3).…”

Do Chinese Children With Math Difficulties Have a Deficit in Executive Functioning?

“…To date, several studies with typically developing (TD) children have shown that these three EF skills predict (jointly or independently) mathematics performance across a wide range of ages (e.g., Espy et al, 2004 ; Blair and Razza, 2007 ; Clark et al, 2010 ; Lan et al, 2011 ; Monette et al, 2011 ; van der Ven et al, 2012 ; McClelland et al, 2014 ; Viterbori et al, 2015 ; Chung et al, 2016 ; Purpura et al, 2017 ; see also Friso-van den Bos et al, 2013 ; Yeniad et al, 2013 , for evidence from meta-analyses). In addition, there is some evidence that poor EF correlates with mathematics learning disabilities (e.g., Toll et al, 2011 ; Willoughby et al, 2016 ; Morgan et al, 2017 ).…”