In the ECLS-K: 2010 dataset, a single latent EF factor model fits EF–math associations better than a specific-components model at all three time points¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r2 · q3
Currency · newest study 2019 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i? Across fall kindergarten, spring kindergarten, and spring first grade, the latent EF model (Model 1) was preferred over the component-specific model (Model 2) by BIC and fit the data exceptionally well. → Nguyen 2019

Evidence¶

Nguyen 2019¶

Nguyen, T., Duncan, R.J., & Bailey, D.H. (2019). Theoretical and methodological implications of associations between executive function and mathematics in early childhood. Contemporary Educational Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2019.04.002

q3 · i? · associational · r2

Secondary analysis of the ECLS-K: 2010, a nationally representative sample of 18,170 kindergartners, comparing BIC fit of a latent EF factor model against a saturated component-specific model at three waves. The article reports "CFI/TLI=1.00, RMSEA=0–0.02, and SRMR=0–0.01" for Model 1.

"For the three time points in the ECLS-K dataset, Model 1 was preferred each time and fit the data exceptionally well: CFI/TLI=1.00, RMSEA=0–0.02, and SRMR=0–0.01."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Children's executive function at the beginning of pre-kindergarten predicts growth in mathematics achievement across the pre-kindergarten year — the general claim this finding bears on, with the studies behind it
• Under the components model in ECLS-K, working memory is the most closely associated EF component with math, but only at time point 1 does it show a positive residual correlation beyond latent EF — related
• In a meta-analytic database of ten studies, the latent EF factor model was preferred in seven samples, with two favoring the components model and one equal — a broader claim this one bears on
• Math achievement correlates more strongly with EF components than EF components correlate with each other in early childhood — related
• Kindergarten EF is best described by a two-factor model separating inhibition from WM–flexibility — reports the opposite
• A combined EF/ToM one-factor model fits the data poorly, supporting construct dissociation — related