Transform Consulting Group works with our clients to build a strategy incorporating industry trends and the latest research. Recent research from Cornell University indicates that efforts to enhance the academic performance of low-income children need to consider multiple aspects of their development, including the ability to plan in a goal-oriented manner. The study is published in the July/August issue of Child Development. Children from low-income families tend to do worse at school than their financially better-off peers. Poor planning skills, which can emerge as early as kindergarten and continue through high school, are one reason for the income-achievement gap. Researchers believe the group of skills called executive function, which includes planning skills, can be strengthened through interventions. Such interventions are being developed and tested for children as young as preschool.
The study found that the children’s performance in fifth grade could be explained, in part, by their performance on the third-grade planning task, even when considering their IQ.
Using income and math and reading scores, the study also found that the lower the household income during infancy, the worse the children’s performance on reading and math in fifth grade – replicating the well-known gap between income and achievement.
Transform Consulting Group can conduct research on your industry to inform the planning process with current trends and best practices. Contact Transform Consulting Group today for a consultation!
