Measuring More: Schools, Teachers, and the Development of Kindergartners Executive Function Skills

Despite growing interest in the importance of nonacademic skills for student success, very few studies have examined the extent to which schools and teachers are associated with gains in these outcomes. This descriptive study adds to the nascent literature by examining the amount of school- and teacher-associated variation in kindergarten students' executive function (EF) skill gains. Leveraging direct EF assessment data from a nationally representative sample of 10,800 public school kindergarteners, the analysis reveals no variation in EF gains among teachers within schools but substantial variation across schools. Additionally, it shows that school-associated variation in EF and academic achievement are weakly correlated, suggesting that some schools are associated with increases in student achievement but not with EF skills and vice versa.