The present study examines whether teacher-rated self-regulation skills exhibited within the classroom context and directly assessed individual executive function abilities at kindergarten entry uniquely contribute to kindergarten and third grade achievement gaps among children from economically disadvantaged families and Spanish-speaking English-Language learners (ELLs). We used nationally representative data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study – Kindergarten cohort of 2010–2011 (ECLS-K: 2011) in hierarchical nested regression models to describe the achievement gaps and subsequent reductions in the achievement gaps once child covariates, classroom self-regulation, and executive function skills were added to the models. Classroom self-regulation explained a moderate proportion of the kindergarten math and literacy gaps, but only among children from economically disadvantaged families. After accounting for classroom self-regulation, executive function skills explained a more substantial proportion of kindergarten achievement gaps for children from economically disadvantaged families and Spanish-speaking ELLs. Moreover, although executive function skills continued to explain achievement gaps in third grade for both groups, effect sizes were small. Results highlight the independent contribution of classroom self-regulation and individual executive function skills for school readiness gaps in kindergarten among children from economically disadvantaged families and suggest that improving executive function abilities prior to kindergarten could be effective for attenuating initial achievement gaps. Applications to policy and practice are discussed.

本研究调查了教师在课堂环境中表现出的自我调节技能，并直接评估了幼儿园入学时的个人执行功能能力是否是造成经济弱势家庭和讲英语的英语学习者之间幼儿园和三年级成绩差距的唯一原因。 （ELL）。我们在分级嵌套回归模型中使用了2010-2011年幼儿纵向研究–幼儿园队列（ECLS-K：2011）中具有国家代表性的数据来​​描述成就差距以及一旦儿童进行协变量，课堂自我调节后成就差距的减少，并且执行功能技能已添加到模型中。课堂自我调节解释了幼儿园数学和识字率差距的适度比例，但仅限于经济上不利家庭的孩子中。在考虑了教室的自我调节之后，执行功能技能可以为经济上处于不利地位的家庭和讲西班牙语的ELLs的孩子解释更大比例的幼儿园成就差距。此外，尽管执行功能技能继续解释了两组三年级学生的成就差距，但效果量很小。结果突出了教室自我调节和个人执行功能技能对经济弱势家庭儿童幼儿园入学准备差距的独立贡献，并表明提高幼儿园之前的执行功能能力可以有效地减轻初次成就方面的差距。讨论了在政策和实践中的应用。