New Research on the Relationship Between Executive Function, Math, and Spatial Skills in English Learners and English Speakers
December 16, 2025
“[Executive function] is comprised of a set of skills – working memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility – that contribute to goal directed behaviors (Carlson, Zelazo, & Faja, 2012)”
Schmitt et al. (2025)
Dr. Sara A. Schmitt and her co-authors recently published the results of a study on the relationships between English Learner (EL) status and preschool math and spatial skills. The authors also explored whether these relationships were impacted by the level of executive function (EF) skills in the participants.
Executive function skills have been found to predict math and spatial skills in children from low-income families1–2. Schmitt and her colleagues noted that based on prior research, EF might also play a protective role for EL students and students from low-income backgrounds.
? What does this mean?
For example, an EL student from a low income background who has high EF skills might have stronger academic outcomes than if they had lower EF skills.
Results
When Schmitt et al. compared the El and non-EL student groups, they found that EL students scored significantly lower than non-EL students on measures of cardinality and numeral identification when controlling for demographic and language variables. The authors also found a statistically significant interaction between EL status and EF level when predicting numeracy ability, but the interaction was only significant for students with high EF skills.
? What does this mean?
Specifically, the authors found that the difference between EL and non-EL students in numeracy ability was significant when both groups of students had high executive function skills. When both groups had lower executive function skills, the difference in numeracy ability between EL and non-EL students was not significant.
EL students were found overall to have lower math language skills than non-EL students, i.e. there was no interaction with EF, even though EF explained a significant amount of variance in this domain.
? What does this mean?
EL students with high and low EF skills had lower math language skills than non-EL students.
The authors found no relation between EL status and spatial skills, although EF explained a significant amount of variance in spatial skills.
? What does this mean?
EF is an important part of spatial ability, but appeared to affect EL and non-EL students in this study similarly.
Discussion Points
Overall, Schmitt et al.’s finding that EL students have a disadvantage compared to non-EL peers in early math skills is aligned with previous research in this area. Interestingly, Schmitt et al., did not find evidence that EF served as a protective factor for EL students on measures of math related skills. The authors also did not find evidence that EL students had an advantage, compared to non-EL peers, on certain aspects of EF such as inhibitory control and spatial skills. Schmitt et al., considered that their results may contradict previous research results in these areas due to measurement differences.
These findings add to the body of research about the relationship between EL status, EF skills, and early math performance.
“Ultimately, better understanding the connections between EF, math, and spatial skills by EL status may inform the design of early childhood instruction and intervention practice for EL children.”
Schmitt et al. (2025)
- Devlin, B. L., Ellis, A., Zehner, T. M., Duncan, R. J., Elicker, J., Purpura, D. J., & Schmitt, S. A. (2024). Contributions of preschool behavioral self-regulation and social skills to growth in different domains of early math knowledge. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 241, 105867. ↩︎
- Bachman, H. J., Miller, P., Elliott, L., Duong, S., Libertus, M., & Votruba-Drzal, E. (2022). Associations among socioeconomic status and preschool-aged children’s, number skills, and spatial skills: The role of executive function. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 221, 105453. ↩︎