Performance- and report-based measures of executive function as predictors of children's academic skills

Executive function (EF) is thought to be a core component of various cognitive processes. Two common ways to measure EF are through report-based measures that assess EF by collecting informant(s) reports on children's behaviors and performance-based measures that assess EF through the completion of a task related to EF dimension(s). However, most research reports low associations between these measures. The goal of this study was to determine the unique and overlapping contributions of a report- and a performance-based measure of EF on children's academic outcomes over time.

The sample consisted of 1,152 children (636 boys, 516 girls) who were part of a large-scale preschool intervention study. Children completed measures of academic achievement in kindergarten, first grade, and second grade, and they completed a performance-based measure of EF in kindergarten; teachers reported on children's EF during the fall of kindergarten. Structural growth modeling was utilized to determine the unique and shared contributions of EF measures on concurrent ability and growth of academic outcomes.

Structural growth models indicated that the separate EF measures were both significant predictors of concurrent ability and growth of all academic outcomes, with one exception; the Head-Toes-Knees-Shoulders task was not a significant predictor of growth in math skills.

Results of this study suggested that report- and performance-based measures of EF should not be used interchangeably, and these findings have implications for the utility of EF as a risk factor for poor academic achievement. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).