Executive functioning skills: what one famous preschool program taught researchers

Diamond, A., Barnett, W. S., Thomas, J., & Munro, S. (2007). Preschool program improves cognitive control. Science, 318(5855), 1387–1388. doi:10.1126/science.1151148

Who was studied: Preschoolers in one US school district, in Tools of the Mind classrooms or the district's regular program.

Design: Comparison of two preschool programs, a smaller and earlier design than the later randomized trials

What they found: Children in Tools classrooms did better than children in the regular program on executive function tasks, especially the most demanding ones.

Blair, C., & Raver, C. C. (2014). Closing the achievement gap through modification of neurocognitive and neuroendocrine function: Results from a cluster randomized controlled trial of an innovative approach to the education of children in kindergarten. PLoS ONE, 9(11), e112393. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0112393 · free full text

Who was studied: 759 kindergartners in 79 classrooms in 29 schools.

Design: Cluster randomized controlled trial

What they found: The kindergarten version improved executive functions, reasoning, attention control, and stress hormone levels, and children did better in reading, vocabulary, and math by the end of kindergarten, with gains that grew into first grade. Several effects were specific to high-poverty schools.

Nesbitt, K. T., & Farran, D. C. (2021). Effects of prekindergarten curricula: Tools of the Mind as a case study. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 86(1), 7–119. doi:10.1111/mono.12425

Who was studied: Children in 60 prekindergarten classrooms (32 Tools, 28 regular), followed to the end of first grade.

Design: Large cluster randomized controlled trial; children followed from prekindergarten through first grade

What they found: There were no positive effects of the Tools curriculum on any of the academic, executive function, self-regulation, or social outcomes. How faithfully teachers used the curriculum varied widely and wasn't consistently related to children's outcomes.

Mixed. Two earlier studies were positive, one of them a randomized kindergarten trial. The largest and longest trial, in prekindergarten, found no effects at all. The studies differ in age, setting, and how the program was delivered, so they don't simply cancel out — but they do show that the early promise didn't hold up everywhere.

• They don't show that executive functioning skills can't be improved. A 2011 review in Science found that many activities, from games to martial arts to some school curricula, can help, especially for children who start out behind.
• They don't test anything parents do at home. These are classroom curricula delivered by teachers over a school year.

Executive functioning skills are the mental skills that let a child manage their own thinking and behavior. Researchers usually describe three core ones.

Working memory: holding information in mind while using it, like remembering a two-step instruction while doing the first step.

Inhibitory control: stopping an automatic response, like not grabbing a toy, waiting for your turn, or not shouting out an answer.

Cognitive flexibility: switching between rules or ideas, like sorting cards by color and then by shape, or trying another way when the first one fails.

These skills develop quickly between about ages 3 and 7, and children of the same age vary a lot. They're closely tied to what parents often call self-control.

Tools of the Mind is a preschool and kindergarten curriculum based on the ideas of the psychologist Lev Vygotsky. Its classrooms use activities designed to exercise executive functions all day long: children plan their pretend play in advance, use visual reminders to wait their turn, and play structured games where the rules change.

In 2007, a short paper in Science compared preschoolers in Tools classrooms with children in the district's regular program and found better performance on executive function tasks, especially the hardest ones. It was published in one of the world's most prominent journals and widely cited as evidence that these skills could be taught in preschool.

In 2014, Clancy Blair and Cybele Raver tested a kindergarten version in a cluster randomized trial with 759 children in 29 schools. They found better executive functions, attention, and reasoning, and better reading, vocabulary, and math by the end of kindergarten, with some effects growing into first grade. Several effects were strongest in high-poverty schools.

Kimberly Nesbitt and Dale Farran then ran one of the largest and longest tests: 60 prekindergarten classrooms randomly assigned to Tools or to their usual curriculum, with children followed through the end of first grade.

The result was clear: no positive effects of Tools on any outcome, whether academic skills, executive functions, self-regulation, or social skills. The researchers also observed classrooms: how faithfully teachers used the curriculum varied widely, and it wasn't consistently related to children's outcomes. On most classroom practices, they found no differences between Tools and regular classrooms.

They did find something useful. Certain classroom practices and interactions, such as more involvement and higher-quality teacher talk, were linked to children's gains, regardless of curriculum. In other words, classroom practices were linked to children's gains regardless of curriculum, though that's an association, not proof that those practices caused the gains.

This pattern, positive early results followed by a null result in a larger trial, is common in education research. Several things can explain it.

Early studies are often smaller and closer to the program's developers, who know it well and support teachers closely. Larger trials test what happens when ordinary schools use a program at scale.

The comparison group matters. If regular classrooms are already good, a new curriculum has less room to show a difference.

Age and setting differ. The positive trial was in kindergarten; the null trial was in prekindergarten. Results in one setting don't automatically transfer to another.

None of this makes the early studies wrong. It means that "this program improves executive functioning skills" is a claim to hold loosely until it has been tested in several places.

A 2011 review by Adele Diamond and Kathleen Lee in Science looked across many kinds of programs for children ages 4 to 12 and found a common pattern: activities that improved executive functions involved repeated practice and gradually increased the challenge. Children with weaker executive functions tended to benefit most.

At home, that looks like play rather than lessons. Games with rules to remember and impulses to stop, such as Simon Says, Red Light Green Light, freeze dance, or a card game where "slap the jack" becomes "slap the queen," all practice the same skills.

Pretend play with a plan helps too: deciding roles and a story first, then playing it out. So do routines with visual reminders, like a picture chart for getting dressed.

Keep it light. The research doesn't point to any single game or program as the answer. It points to many small, slightly challenging moments of practice, the kind most families already have.

What is executive function?

Executive function is a set of mental skills that help us plan, focus, remember instructions, and control impulses. In young children, researchers usually look at three: working memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility. These skills develop quickly in the preschool years and keep developing into early adulthood.

What are examples of executive functioning skills in a 5-year-old?

Remembering a two-step instruction, waiting for a turn in a game, not grabbing a toy from another child, switching from playing to cleaning up when asked, and trying another way when a puzzle piece doesn't fit are all everyday examples at age 5.

How can I improve my child's executive functioning skills?

Play games with rules and impulse control, like Simon Says, freeze dance, or Red Light Green Light, and make them gradually harder. Pretend play with a plan and visual routines use the same skills. It's a reasonable approach; no single program or game has been shown to be the answer.

When does executive function develop?

Executive function starts developing in infancy, grows especially quickly between about ages 3 and 7, and continues to mature through adolescence into the early twenties. A 5-year-old's executive functions are very much a work in progress.

Does Tools of the Mind work?

The evidence is mixed. A 2007 study and a 2014 kindergarten trial found benefits, but a large randomized trial in 60 prekindergarten classrooms, published in 2021, found no positive effects on any outcome. Results may depend on age, setting, and how well the program is delivered.

The Pause Button (lesson 4) and Boss of My Want (lesson 13) practice stopping and waiting through games, the kind of everyday executive-function practice the research points to.

See the program

Read next

• Self-Control Activities for Kids: Games That Build It
• How to Teach Kids Patience: Waiting Is a Skill, Not a Virtue