Sorting Test, Tower Test, and BRIEF-SR do not predict school performance of healthy adolescents in preuniversity education

Abstract

Executive functions (EF) such as self-monitoring, planning, and organizing are known to develop through childhood and adolescence. They are of potential importance for learning and school performance. Earlier research into the relation between EF and school performance did not provide clear results possibly because confounding factors such as educational track, boy-girl differences, and parental education were not taken into account. The present study therefore investigated the relation between executive function tests and school performance in a highly controlled sample of 173 healthy adolescents aged 12–18. Only students in the pre-university educational track were used and the performance of boys was compared to that of girls. Results showed that there was no relation between the report marks obtained and the performance on executive function tests, notably the Sorting Test and the Tower Test of the Delis-Kaplan Executive Functions System (D-KEFS). Likewise, no relation was found between the report marks and the scores on the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function—Self-Report Version (BRIEF-SR) after these were controlled for grade, sex, and level of parental education. The findings indicate that executive functioning as measured with widely used instruments such as the BRIEF-SR does not predict school performance of adolescents in preuniversity education any better than a student's grade, sex, and level of parental education.

Association Between Executive Function and Problematic Adolescent Driving

“…While multiple perspectives of self-reported behavior are recommended, especially for populations such as youth with ADHD who may be less aware of their own executive function deficits, the age of this typically developing group of adolescents in this sample was adequate to judge and evaluate their own behavior and perceptions. 53 Finally, demographic and health variables such as the presence and interaction of developmental disorders such as IQ performance, ADHD status, drug/alcohol use, and driving experience should be considered in future research to further understand the relation between executive function and problematic driving outcomes. Unfortunately, ADHD symptom severity or status was not assessed in our study sample.…”

Predicting GPAs with Executive Functioning Assessed by Teachers and by Adolescents Themselves

“…The BRIEF-SR has been used less frequently than the BRIEF in research. It may be that studies like that reported by Boschloo et al (2014) represent similar null findings that others find and do not publish, or that adolescents' insights into their own EFs remain an understudied area. Adolescents have been found to be able to rate their own behaviors accurately (Wichstrøm, 1995); nonetheless, individuals of many ages who are still developing an ability are often not so good at rating themselves on that ability (Dunning, Johnson, Ehrlinger, & Kruger, 2003), and the ability to monitor aspects of one's own performance is itself The European Educational Researcher | 177 an EF, so adolescents who are still developing the ability to monitor their own behaviors may not be so able to accurately rate themselves.…”

“…Best et al (2011) investigated the relationships between EFs and academic achievement among a sample of over 2,000 children and adolescents using the Planning scale of the Cognitive Assessment System (Naglieri & Das, 1997); they found that EFs were moderately correlated with success in both math and reading achievement. Boschloo, Krabbendam, Aben, de Groot, and Jolles (2014), however, did not find a significant relationship between some subscores on a Dutch version of the BRIEF-SR and grades in Dutch, English, and mathematics; they also did not find that grades were predicted by behavioral measures of EFs from the Delis-Kaplan Executive Functions System.…”

“…Jacob and Parkinson (2015) cogently argue that investigations of EFs in academics are greatly hampered by the exclusion of such demographic and individual factors. Indeed, Boschloo et al (2014) found that including gender and level of parental education reduced the effects of BRIEF-SR scores to non-significance in their study. Relatedly, Authors (2016) found that adding BRIEF-related terms to models predicting overall GPAs could render nonsignificant the previously-significant effects of gender and IEP status.…”

Instrumentos de Avaliação das Funções Executivas: Revisão Sistemática dos Últimos Cinco Anos

“…Nos artigos que utilizam instrumentos na avaliação de crianças e adolescentes, observou-se um interesse específico pela relação entre FE e o processo de aprendizagem, assim como pelas dificuldades encontradas neste (Boschloo et al, 2014;Lima et al, 2013;Freire et al, 2015;Pazeto, et al, 2014). Pode-se afirmar que o interesse por essa relação decorre do fato de que se demonstra que as habilidades executivas são preditoras de um bom desempenho na aprendizagem e que o prejuízo em algumas dessas habilidades pode levar a dificuldades de aprendizagem (Corso, Sperb, Jou, & Salles, 2013).…”