Executive Function Measurement in Urban Schools: Exploring Links Between Performance-Based Metrics and Teacher Ratings
type: CreativeWork
description: In the past three decades, there has been an increased interest in the study of children’s executive functions and how they are measured. Executive functions are often thought to involve higher-order mental processes needed to facilitate goal-oriented behaviour through conscious control of thoughts and actions. Common components of executive functioning include working memory, inhibition, and shifting. Each component provides an element of purposeful, self-directed behaviour, making each important for cognitive development. When compared to research centred on the executive function development of White, middle-class children, relatively little is known about their non-White, low socioeconomic status peers. In an effort to harmonise executive function measurement within under-represented contexts, the present study addresses gaps in the evaluation of everyday executive functioning to better understand whether behaviour rating scales completed by teachers (BASC2EF – BASC executive function scale, 2nd edition; BASC3EF – BASC executive function scale, 3rd edition) capture distinctions between performance-based measures. This study includes two large samples of older, ethnic minority children from high-poverty backgrounds within the United States (Sample 1. *N* = 243; *Mage* = 9.28 years, *SDage* = 0.80; *nfemale* = 125; *nAfricanAmerican* = 216, *nLatinAmerican* = 15, *nAsianAmerican* = 6; Sample 2. *N* = 229; *Mage* = 10.02 years, *SDage* = 1.01; *nfemale* = 120 *nAfricanAmerican* = 132, *nLatinAmerican* = 92, *nWhite* = 3, *nPacificIslander* = 1). Based on confirmatory factor analyses and structural equation models testing the links between computerized performance-based measures and the teacher rating scales, the results indicate that BASC2EF in its original form might be a good fit for some populations, but there is not a strong factor structure for the current high-poverty samples. In addition, post-hoc analyses suggest that only including BASC2EF items also in BA…
abstract: In the past three decades, there has been an increased interest in the study of children’s executive functions and how they are measured. Executive functions are often thought to involve higher-order mental processes needed to facilitate goal-oriented behaviour through conscious control of thoughts and actions. Common components of executive functioning include working memory, inhibition, and shifting. Each component provides an element of purposeful, self-directed behaviour, making each important for cognitive development. When compared to research centred on the executive function development of White, middle-class children, relatively little is known about their non-White, low socioeconomic status peers. In an effort to harmonise executive function measurement within under-represented contexts, the present study addresses gaps in the evaluation of everyday executive functioning to better understand whether behaviour rating scales completed by teachers (BASC2EF – BASC executive function scale, 2nd edition; BASC3EF – BASC executive function scale, 3rd edition) capture distinctions between performance-based measures. This study includes two large samples of older, ethnic minority children from high-poverty backgrounds within the United States (Sample 1. *N* = 243; *Mage* = 9.28 years, *SDage* = 0.80; *nfemale* = 125; *nAfricanAmerican* = 216, *nLatinAmerican* = 15, *nAsianAmerican* = 6; Sample 2. *N* = 229; *Mage* = 10.02 years, *SDage* = 1.01; *nfemale* = 120 *nAfricanAmerican* = 132, *nLatinAmerican* = 92, *nWhite* = 3, *nPacificIslander* = 1). Based on confirmatory factor analyses and structural equation models testing the links between computerized performance-based measures and the teacher rating scales, the results indicate that BASC2EF in its original form might be a good fit for some populations, but there is not a strong factor structure for the current high-poverty samples. In addition, post-hoc analyses suggest that only including BASC2EF items also in BA…
author: Zonneveld, Anne
language: eng
keywords: computerised tasks, ethnic minority, executive functions, middle childhood, socioeconomic status, teacher rating scales
license: https://apollo8-f-pro.lib.cam.ac.uk/bitstreams/c0d4f8e4-606d-4c0f-a9b3-084798075ad8/download
license: https://www.rioxx.net/licenses/all-rights-reserved/
date published: 2023-03-22
date modified: 2026-07-22T22:24:16Z
provider: Cambridge University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Cambridge

PropertyValue
property ID: DOI
value: 10.17863/CAM.102177