Show me the data: Nonacademic skills
Executive skills help kids control and shift attention, manage distractions, and use and organize information while thinking mathematically and reading.
Note: Unconstrained Kids unpacks, translates, and integrates academic research and data about constrained and unconstrained skills for people that run, fund, and assist organizations that teach and serve kids. This post presents a series of charts I created from among four nationally representative datasets to illustrate proficiency patterns in representative groups of constrained and unconstrained reading and math skills, unconstrained nonacademic skills, and unconstrained general knowledge. For reference, see this working list of constrained and unconstrained skills. Like everything on this Substack, this post is a work-in-progress. I will make updates as needed. A list of the skills included in these charts is included at the end. Questions, comments, and suggestions are welcome.
Last updated: March 15, 2025
Three big ideas
Executive skills help us control and shift our attention, manage distractions, and use and organize information. Although we engage these skills when we do reading- and math-related tasks, they are sometimes referred to as “nonacademic” because they help us across a range of goal-oriented activities.
Multiple longitudinal studies of reading and mathematics show nonacademic skills directly and indirectly support the development of reading and math skills. Some studies show the relative contributions of these nonacademic skills are on par with those of domain-specific reading and math component skills.
Early gaps in nonacademic skills by household income do not appear to close through elementary school.
About these data
The data in these charts come from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010-11 (ECLS-K:2011). I've provided an overview of this and other datasets I used to analyze constrained and unconstrained skills. The ECLS-K:2011 data were collected between Fall 2010 and Spring 2016. It’s the best dataset I’ve found to dig deep into executive function skills. I used the EdSurvey R package to analyze the data. The data are organized by household income measured in comparison to the federal poverty level. The charts in this post focus on unconstrained nonacademic skills in elementary school. The children in the ECLS-K:2011 are a nationally representative group. However, we can’t directly compare their longitudinal growth with those from the other ECLS-K data set that covers the 1989-2007 period.
Nonacademic skills
“Executive skills” help us control and shift our attention, manage distractions, and use and organize information (Dawson and Guare, 2018). Although we engage these skills when we do reading- and math-related tasks, they are sometimes referred to as “nonacademic” because they help us across a range of goal-oriented activities (Stafford-Brizard, 2016). There is plenty of research that shows nonacademic skills directly and indirectly support the development of reading and math skills as well (Sowinski et al., 2015; Cragg et al., 2017; Kim, 2020). Three skills are considered core executive function skills: working memory, cognitive flexibility, and inhibition control (Cuevas et al., 2018).
Working memory
Working memory is the ability to hold and process information in our minds while performing complex tasks (Dawson & Guare, 2018). There are two types of working memory – visual and verbal. Working memory helps us to do a wide range of daily tasks. Working memory has been shown to have an indirect effect on reading and math achievement (Cragg et al., 2017; Kim, 2020). The environments in which children grow up – positive and negative – can significantly shape the development of their working memory.
This first chart shows the percentage of kids by household income with average or higher scores for working memory from kindergarten through fifth grade.1 The data were collected between the 2010-2011 and 2015-2016 school years. The chart shows a staggering 36 point gap (35% to 71%) for working memory at the start of kindergarten between the lowest and highest household income groups at the start of elementary school. By second grade this gap is cut in half to 17 points. And by the end of elementary school the gap narrows a bit more to 12 points. (Mouse over the chart.)
Figure 1. Verbal working memory capacity.
Overall, the gap for working memory narrows by two-thirds between the lowest and highest income groups narrows from kindergarten to fifth grade. However, this gap does not fully close like constrained skills do over the first six years of school in another dataset. Throughout this period working memory is having a direct and indirect effect on the development of reading and math skills (Cragg et al., 2017; Kim, 2020).
Cognitive flexibility (attention shifting)
Cognitive flexibility is the ability to consider multiple pieces of information or ideas at one time and switch between them while engaging in a task (Cartwright, 2023). This ability helps us to adjust our plans or actions in the face of obstacles or changing conditions (Dawson & Guare, 2018). Cognitive flexibility is developed through consistent practice in everyday routines and experiences. Differences in children’s environments and experiences affect their ability to adjust their thought patterns, look at issues from alternative perspectives, and learn to adapt to change.
In reading, cognitive flexibility is thought to help, for example, in actively shifting our attention back and forth between sounds and meanings of printed words (Duke & Cartwright, 2021; Cartwright, 2023). Cognitive flexibility can also help students evaluate different strategies and approaches for solving math problems.
This next chart shows the percentage of kids by household income with passing scores for working memory from kindergarten through fifth grade.2 The data were collected between the 2010-2011 and 2015-2016 school years. The chart shows an astounding 20 point gap (23% vs. 43%) for cognitive flexibility at the start of kindergarten between the lowest and highest household income groups at the start of elementary school. By second grade this gap is reduced to 14 points. And by the end of elementary school the gap narrows further to 10 points. (Mouse over the chart.)
Figure 2. Capacity to shift attention (cognitive flexibility).
Similar to working memory, we see clear early and persistent gaps between the lowest and highest income groups in cognitive flexibility starting in kindergarten. Moreover, there are persistent gaps across student groups by household income. Although the spread of the gap is cut in half by fifth grade, like working memory it doesn’t fully close by the end of elementary school. Again, this sharply contrasts with the patterns of gap closing for constrained reading and math skills by the end of elementary school.
There are real consequences for these differences in cognitive flexibility. In reading, cognitive flexibility is thought to help, for example, in actively shifting our attention back and forth between sounds and meanings of printed words (Duke & Cartwright, 2021; Cartwright, 2023). Cognitive flexibility can also help students evaluate different strategies and approaches for solving math problems.
Inhibition control
Researchers describe inhibition control in different ways. Inhibition control involves the ability to ignore distractions (Cartwright, 2023). Inhibition control is the capacity to think before you act. It is the ability to override or delay a dominant response in order to achieve a goal (Dawson & Guare, 2018). Inhibition control develops from infancy over the course of a lifetime. Children’s experiences starting from birth affect their capacity to manage distractions.
This next chart shows the percentage of kids by household income with average or higher scores for inhibition control between in fourth and fifth grade.3 These are the only grade levels in which this skill was assessed in the ECLSK:2011 study. The data were collected in the 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 school years. The chart shows a incredible 19 point gap (58% vs. 77%) for inhibition control in fourth grade between the lowest and highest household income groups. The gap reduced slightly to 14 points at the end of elementary school a year later. (Mouse over the chart.)
Figure 3. Capacity to ignore irrelevant distractions (inhibition control).
These differences in children’s ability to manage distractions have real consequences for their reading and math achievement. Inhibition control assists readers to stay focused on the reading task (e.g. ignore distractions, avoid daydreaming) and inhibit or suppress irrelevant details in the text while reading for understanding (Cartwright, 2023). Inhibition control has also been found to support math achievement through its connection to factual knowledge and procedural skills (Cragg et al., 2017). Math procedural knowledge has an interactive relationship with math conceptual knowledge, which supports mathematical thinking and problem solving.
Although data for working memory, cognitive flexibility and inhibition control are presented separately, in reality all three skills are highly interactive and co-dependent with each other (Dawson & Gaure, 2018). The ECLS-K:2011 provides a unique window into the development of this important set of unconstrained skills.
But wait, there’s more
If you’d like to see more data about constrained and unconstrained skills, check out these other posts on Unconstrained Kids:
Works Cited
Cartwright, K. B. (2023). Executive skills and reading comprehension: A guide for educators. New York: The Guilford Press.
Cragg, L., Keeble, S., Richardson, S., Roome, H. E., & Gilmore, C. (2017). Direct and indirect influences of executive functions on mathematics achievement. Cognition, 162, 12-26.
Cuevas, K., Rajan, V., & Bryant, L. J. (2017). Emergence of executive function in infancy. In S. A. Wiebe and J. Karbach (Eds.), Executive function: Development across the life span. (pp. 11-28). New York: Routledge.
Dawson, P., & Guare, R. (2018). Executive skills in children and adolescents: A practical guide to assessment and intervention. New York: The Guilford Press.
Duke, N. K., & Cartwright, K. B. (2021). The science of reading progresses: Communicating advances beyond the simple view of reading. Reading Research Quarterly, 56, S25-S44.
Kim, Y. S. G. (2020). Hierarchical and dynamic relations of language and cognitive skills to reading comprehension: Testing the direct and indirect effects model of reading (DIER). Journal of Educational Psychology, 112(4), 667.
Najarian, M., Tourangeau, K., Nord, C., & Wallner-Allen, K. (2018). Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010–11 (ECLS-K: 2011), first-and second-grade psychometric report (NCES 2018-183). National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, US Department of Education
Slotkin, J., Kallen, M., Griffith, J., Magasi, S., Salsman, J., & Nowinski, C. (2012). NIH toolbox. Technical Manual.
Sowinski, C., LeFevre, J. A., Skwarchuk, S. L., Kamawar, D., Bisanz, J., & Smith-Chant, B. (2015). Refining the quantitative pathway of the Pathways to Mathematics model. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 131, 73-93.
Stafford-Brizard, K. B. (2016). Nonacademic skills are the necessary foundation for learning. Education Week. Retrieved from http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2016/07/21/nonacademic-skills-are-the-necessary-foundation-for.html.
Working Memory was assessed using the Numbers Reversed task from the Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Cognitive Abilities. I followed guidance to compute the percentage of kids who received average or higher scores (25th percentile and higher) in kindergarten, second grade, and fifth grade (Najarian, et al., 2018).
Cognitive flexibility was assessed using the Dimensional Change Card Sort Test (DCCS) task. The paper-based version was used in Grades K-1 and the computer-based version in Grades 2-5. I followed guidance for both versions of the DCCS to compute minimum passing scores across K-5 (Slotkin et al., 2012; Najarian, et al. 2018).
Inhibition control was assessed using the Flanker Inhibitory Control and Attention Test. I followed guidance to compute the percentage of kids who received average or higher scores (25th percentile or higher) in fourth and fifth grade (Slotkin et al., 2012).