Children's executive function at the beginning of pre-kindergarten predicts growth in mathematics achievement across the pre-kindergarten year¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r? · q3
Currency · newest study 2022 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i? Executive function at the beginning of pre-kindergarten predicts growth in mathematics achievement across the pre-kindergarten year in a diverse sample of 467 preschoolers. → Tara Hofkens 2022

Evidence¶

Tara Hofkens 2022¶

Tara Hofkens, Jessica Whittaker, Robert Pianta, Virginia Vitiello, Erik Ruzek, Arya Ansari. (2022). Pathways of mathematics achievement in preschool: Examining executive function and task orientation. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2022.101432

q3 · i? · associational · r?

Longitudinal study of a racially/ethnically and linguistically diverse sample of 467 preschoolers testing whether EF at the beginning of pre-kindergarten predicts growth in mathematics achievement across the pre-kindergarten year; the abstract states this as the study's first research question.

"we used longitudinal data from a racially/ethnically and linguistically diverse sample of 467 preschoolers to examine (1) if children’s EF at the beginning of pre-kindergarten predicts growth in their mathematics achievement across the pre-kindergarten year"

Studies bearing on this claim¶

Does a child's executive function predict achievement, and through what? This table gathers the studies behind this claim and the 11 narrower claims that bear on it: 6 distinct studies (4 associational, 2 causal), q2–q3, 0 of 6 with an effect size coded. One row per study, codes as each entry records them; no effect is averaged and no verdict is drawn. Built by scripts/synthesize_claim.py from eval/synthesis/; a row that looks wrong is fixed on the claim it comes from.

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Self-Regulation — predictor: learners who differ on it differ in outcomes
• Executive Function — predictor: learners who differ on it differ in outcomes

Related Claims¶

• Self Regulated Learning Predicts Achievement — the general claim this finding bears on, with the studies behind it
• Growth in task orientation partially mediates the association between executive function and mathematics achievement in preschoolers — related
• No statistically significant sex differences in the direct associations among EF, task orientation, and mathematics or in the mediating effect of task orientation — related
• Mathematical accuracy and fluency have overlapping yet different predictors, supporting attention to both aspects in mathematics teaching — related
• Preschool working memory–flexibility predicts later math achievement, especially in Grade 3 — related
• Executive function measures predict early mathematics achievement over and above reading ability and IQ — related
• Preschool executive function positively predicts kindergarten math on both measures, while teacher–child relationship quality shows only a trend-level main effect on ECLS-K Math and none on Applied Problems — related
• Executive function at 48 months moderates the preschool-to-kindergarten development of math ability on the ECLS-K Math battery but not the Applied Problems subtest — related
• Mindsets relate to kindergarteners' achievement indirectly through executive functions and classroom behavioral self-regulation as mediators — related
• Meta-analytic findings show small-to-medium relations between EF and academic performance, with cognitive flexibility showing the strongest effects — related
• Executive functions and working memory correlate moderately to strongly with mathematics achievement (r = .28 to .40), from preschool through elementary school — a broader claim this one bears on
• Motivation's effect on later mathematical performance is indirect, mediated by executive functioning and early numeracy skills — related
• Preschool math ability significantly predicts kindergarten math ability on both the ECLS-K Math battery and the Applied Problems subtest — related
• Children with lower pre-test executive function and social cognition skills improve more, while attendance, teacher involvement, age and school year do not predict gains — related
• Executive functioning and early numeracy skills assessed in kindergarten directly predict mathematical performance in second grade, jointly explaining 57.3% of its variance — related
• Bidirectional EF–mathematics relationships are reported but the longitudinal evidence is mixed and method-dependent — related
• Preschool executive functions robustly predict mathematical skills during preschool and later in development — a broader claim this one bears on
• With covariates, early and intermediate EF groups become indistinguishable in math level and growth, but the later EF group's disadvantage remains — related
• Early EF developers start pre-k with higher math levels than intermediate and later developers and maintain that advantage over time — related
• Inference-based instruction and teacher–student conflict were more strongly associated with math achievement and growth for children with low early math skills (a three-way interaction in observational data) — related
• Long-term academic benefits of preschool are almost entirely mediated by children's earlier skill development — related