The present study investigated the relation between academic performance and ratings of executive functioning in children aged 6–11 from four countries: Sweden, Spain, Iran, and China. Ratings of executive functioning were made by both parents and teachers using the Childhood Executive Functioning Inventory (CHEXI). The results showed that the Chinese sample was generally rated as having more executive deficits compared to the other samples. The finding that executive functioning deficits are exacerbated in China is most likely the result of cultural biases. Boys were generally rated as having poorer executive functioning compared to girls, except in Iran where parents, but not teachers, rated girls as having poorer executive functioning compared to boys. However, this opposite pattern of results found for Iran is not likely to reflect true gender differences in executive functioning. Despite some differences in the levels of executive functioning across countries, both the inhibition and working memory subscales of the CHEXI were related to academic achievement in all four countries, except for CHEXI parent ratings in China. Altogether, the results indicate that the CHEXI may be used as a screening measure for early academic difficulties, although cultural biases clearly have to be taken into consideration.

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The preschool version of the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function is a rating scale increasingly used in research and widely used in clinical settings for the assessment of the executive skills. However, the studies conducted on its measurement properties are still scarce, and validation studies outside North-America, almost inexistent. In the present study we analyzed its psychometric features in a sample of 452 preschool children who were rated by their teachers. The results from exploratory factor analysis indicated good adjustment of the clinical scales to the three factor model proposed by the authors of the BRIEF-P, as well as high internal consistency. The obtained raw scores were significantly lower than those reported in the normative sample, so the urge upon the construction of adapted norms to our school population is stressed.Keywords: Executive Function, BRIEF-P, rating scales. ResumenLa versión para preescolar del Inventario de Evaluación Conductual de la Función Ejecutiva es una escala cada vez más utilizada en la investigación y ampliamente utilizada en la práctica clínica para la evaluación de las habilidades ejecutivas. Sin embargo, los estudios realizados sobre sus propiedades de medición son todavía escasos, y los estudios de validación fuera de América del Norte, casi inexistentes. En el presente estudio se analizaron sus características psicométricas en una muestra de 452 niños y niñas en edad preescolar que fueron valorados por sus profesores. Los resultados del análisis factorial exploratorio indican un buen ajuste de las escalas clínicas al modelo de tres factores propuesto por los autores del BRIEF-P, así como una alta consistencia interna. Los puntajes brutos obtenidos fueron significativamente más bajos que los reportados en la muestra normativa, por lo que se subraya la necesidad de impulsar la construcción de normas adaptadas a nuestra población escolar.Palabras clave: Función ejecutiva, BRIEF-P, escalas de evaluación.