Preschool executive functioning abilities predict early mathematics achievement.

Impairments in executive function have been documented in school-age children with mathematical learning difficulties. However, the utility and specificity of preschool executive function abilities in predicting later mathematical achievement are poorly understood. This study examined linkages between children's developing executive function abilities at age 4 and children's subsequent achievement in mathematics at age 6, 1 year after school entry. The study sample consisted of a regionally representative cohort of 104 children followed prospectively from ages 2 to 6 years. At age 4, children completed a battery of executive function tasks that assessed planning, set shifting, and inhibitory control. Teachers…

• UO
  University of Canterbury
• CM
  Canterbury Medical Research Foundation
• NF
  Neurological Foundation of New Zealand
• HR
  Health Research Council of New Zealand