Data from: 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

Effective early education is essential for academic achievement and
positive life outcomes, particularly for children in poverty. Advances in
neuroscience suggest that a focus on self-regulation in education can
enhance children’s engagement in learning and establish beneficial
academic trajectories in the early elementary grades. Here, we
experimentally evaluate an innovative approach to the education of
children in kindergarten that embeds support for self-regulation,
particularly executive functions, into literacy, mathematics, and science
learning activities. Results from a cluster randomized controlled trial
involving 29 schools, 79 classrooms, and 759 children indicated positive
effects on executive functions, reasoning ability, the control of
attention, and levels of salivary cortisol and alpha amylase. Results also
demonstrated improvements in reading, vocabulary, and mathematics at the
end of kindergarten that increased into the first grade. A number of
effects were specific to high-poverty schools, suggesting that a focus on
executive functions and associated aspects of self-regulation in early
elementary education holds promise for closing the achievement gap.