The Role of Planning Skills in the Income–Achievement Gap

The pervasive income–achievement gap has been attributed in part to deficiencies in executive functioning ( EF ). The development of EF is related to children's planning ability, an aspect of development that has received little attention. Longitudinal data from the N ational I nstitute of C hild H ealth and H uman D evelopment study of early child care show that early childhood poverty (1 and 24 months) is significantly related to fifth grade, math, and reading achievement ( n  = 1,009). The ability to plan in G rade 3, indexed by the T ower of H anoi task, mediates the income–achievement gap in math and to a lesser extent in reading. IQ was incorporated as a statistical control throughout.