The Development of Reading and Executive Functioning Among Young Children from Diverse Socioeconomic Backgrounds

This longitudinal study investigates the development of alphabetic skills from kindergarten to third grade and the contribution of the three different executive function (EF) abilities—working memory (WM), cognitive flexibility, and inhibition—to these skills among children from diverse SES. A comprehensive battery of early literacy, reading, and EF tasks was administered individually to assess reading abilities and various EF facets at three time points (kindergarten, first grade, and third grade). The results revealed significant differences in alphabetic skills and reading abilities (reading fluency) from kindergarten to third grade among children from different SES backgrounds, with children from higher SES backgrounds exhibiting better alphabetic and reading skills than those from lower SES backgrounds. These differences decreased in the third grade. The various EF components contributed differently at each age and SES level to the alphabetic and reading abilities. Auditory WM (AWM) was a significant predictor of reading ability in all SES groups, especially the low SES group. Among the high and medium SES groups in first grade, AWM and cognitive flexibility emerged as significant predictors, while visual WM was significant in the low SES group. EF abilities contributed less to reading in all SES groups in the third grade as compared to earlier ages. This trend suggests a gradual narrowing of the SES-related gap in reading development, associated with the role of school exposure in reducing disparities rooted in varied home environments. These findings suggest that early screening in kindergarten, particularly among low SES populations, could identify children at risk for reading difficulties and inform targeted interventions that support the development of critical executive function skills alongside literacy instruction.