Assessing Executive Functions: What Educational Researchers and Practitioners Are to Know

• In Event: 31.091 - Roundtable Session 10
  In Roundtable Session: 31.091-20 - Social and Emotional Learning Assessments

Abstract

The importance of executive functions has been widely recognized. However, many questions remain unclear to educational researchers and practitioners. For example, how are executive functions assessed? What instruments are available? Are these assessments effective and reliable? Do different assessments measure the same thing? This study aims to find answers to such questions by reviewing more than 140 scientific works across education, psychology, neuropsychology, neuroscience, psychiatry, and medical sciences. This study identifies the most commonly used performance-based (e.g., the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test) and rating measures (e.g., the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function) of executive functions. It discusses the difference between different types of assessments, their reliability and ecological validity, and optimal approaches for accurate assessments of executive functions.

Authors

• Saiying Steenbergen-Hu, Northwestern University

• Paula M. Olszewski-Kubilius, Northwestern University

• Eric Calvert, Northwestern University