Preschool executive functions and longitudinal school functioning: the incremental contributions of performance-based, parent- and teacher-reported measures

Abstract

Introduction The assessment of executive functioning (EF) in early childhood is crucial for understanding developmental trajectories and academic outcomes, yet the convergence and predictive utility of different assessment methods remain debated. This longitudinal study examined the incremental validity of performance-based measures, parent-reported, and teacher-reported EF in predicting later academic functioning. Methods A sample of 211 preschool children ( M age = 4.34 years) completed performance-based EF tasks (BAFE) and were rated by parents and teachers using the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function–Preschool Version (BRIEF-P). Approximately four years later, academic proficiency across six domains (reading, writing, oral language, numbers, space and geometry, and science) was evaluated, with complete longitudinal data available for 191 children. Hierarchical ordinal logistic regressions were performed. Results Our results indicated significant but modest convergence between parent and teacher ratings, as well as limited associations between performance-based tasks and behavioral ratings. Hierarchical ordinal logistic regressions revealed that while performance-based visuospatial working memory remained independently associated with later mathematics outcomes, informant ratings provided distinct predictive information. Parent-reported executive difficulties provided incremental predictive information beyond performance-based measures; however, after teacher-reported executive functioning was included in the models, teacher-reported difficulties showed consistent incremental associations with lower academic proficiency across all six domains, while the associations involving parent reports were substantially attenuated. Conclusion These findings support the complementary value of performance-based and informant-reported measures of preschool executive functioning. Teacher-reported executive difficulties showed particularly consistent prospective associations with later school functioning, although this pattern should be interpreted cautiously given the contextual overlap between preschool teacher observations and subsequent school-based academic evaluations.

The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Frontiers in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 2026 · DOI ↗