For students with significant behavior problems, difficulties with executive function (EF) and associated self-regulation are not uncommon, and middle school is a crucial period when students are at greater risk for escalating behaviors that have long-term impacts (e.g., school dropout, incarceration; Kauffman & Landrum, 2018). Therefore, in…

The study examines students' skills at kindergarten entry and gains in skills across kindergarten through first grade (pre-COVID) predicting literacy, language, math, inhibitory control, and social adjustment in the spring of 4th grade, after schools re-opened. Longitudinal data were collected on students (N=785) who were linguistically diverse…

The current review of the role of executive function (EF) in reading provides a brief summary of analyses with a large-scale longitudinal dataset and a meta-analysis, along with proposing a framework for designing EF training studies. The 1st study, based on latent growth models with structured residuals, demonstrated a longitudinal reciprocal…

This study examined the links between classroom skill compositions and preschoolers' early learning and development in the nationally representative Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey 2014 (FACES, n = 1,711 children/207 classrooms) and public pre-K programs in a county in Virginia (n = 1,467 children/123 classrooms). Results from a…

The present study used data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study--Kindergarten Cohort of 2011 (N = 15,827; 51.1% male; 48.4% White, 13.5% Black/African-American, 24.3% Hispanic/Latino, 7.5% Asian, and 6.3% other ethnicity) to examine the unique contribution of specific executive function processes (working memory and cognitive flexibility)…

Self-regulation has been established as a key mechanism associated with a variety of outcomes, including school readiness (Blair & Razza, 2007; McClelland, Cameron, Connor, et al., 2007; Morrison, Ponitz, & McClelland, 2010), academic achievement (Cameron Ponitz, McClelland, Matthews, & Morrison, 2009; Duckworth, Tsukayama, & May,…

A considerable body of research indicates that children's executive function (EF) skills and related school readiness constructs are important for early learning and long-term academic success. This review focuses on EF and a related construct, motor skills with a focus on visuo-motor integration, as being foundational for learning, and describes…

Considerable research has examined interventions that facilitate school readiness skills in young children. One intervention, "Red Light, Purple Light Circle Time Games" (RLPL; Tominey and McClelland, 2011; Schmitt et al., 2015), includes music and movement games that aim to foster self-regulation skills. The present study (N = 157)…

A growing literature has demonstrated that early math skills are associated with later outcomes for children. This research has generated interest in improving children's early math competencies as a pathway to improved outcomes for children in elementary school. The Making Pre-K Count study was designed to test the effects of an early math…

Research has illuminated contributions--usually modeled separately--of both executive functioning (EF) and visuomotor integration (VMI) to mathematical development in early elementary school. This study examined simultaneous associations of EF and VMI, measured at the beginning of the school year, with concurrent and later mathematics performance…

The development of independent behavior is a critical, challenging process for all youth as they pass through the high school environment into adulthood. Although most high school students gain skills related to independence, the independent behaviors of their peers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) plateau and decline. These skill deficits and…