Substantial evidence has established that individual differences in executive function (EF) in early childhood are uniquely predictive of children's academic readiness at school entry. The current study tested whether growth trajectories of EF across the early childhood period could be used to identify a subset of children who were at pronounced…

Average and backward readers from Grades 2, 4, and 6 were examined for their performance on five cognitive tasks, three of which measured memory span. Results were consistent with a developmental trend and increment with reading competence. No differences were obtained between matched groups, which supported a developmental interpretation.…