# Profiles of academic and cognitive abilities differ in younger and older children from diverse socioeconomic neighbourhoods

## TL;DR

This study finds that socioeconomic status affects academic and cognitive abilities in children, with differences changing as children grow older.

## Contribution

The study reveals that SES-related disadvantages are not uniform across age groups and cognitive domains.

## Key findings

- Low-SES children in Grade Two showed disadvantages in most academic and cognitive measures except for specific tasks.
- By Grade Six, academic differences remained, but cognitive differences were limited to one task.
- The findings challenge the idea of widespread disadvantages for low-SES children and suggest the need for longitudinal research.

## Abstract

Research indicates that socioeconomic status (SES) influences developmental outcomes, particularly in language, executive functions, and intelligence, though findings have been mixed. This study examines the relationship between academic, cognitive and intellectual abilities in a cross-section of children at two age levels in low-SES vs. high-SES schools.

We administered a computerised battery of tests to 46 children in Grade Two (youngest 6.9 years old) and 67 children in Grade Six (oldest 12.4 years old) across four primary schools from low-SES and high-SES neighbourhoods. The test battery comprised two academic ability tests, five cognitive ability tests, and two intelligence tests.

In Grade Two, the low-SES group showed disadvantages on all measures except the Wisconsin Card Sorting Task and Choice Reaction Time. In Grade Six, while academic differences persisted between SES groups, cognitive differences were limited to the Wisconsin Card Sorting Task, where the high-SES group performed better than the low-SES group.

Though our results pertain to cross-sectional data using neighbourhood indices of SES, our findings contrast with previous research showing broad and pervasive disadvantages associated with lower SES. Future research should further examine the potential differences and similarities in developmental outcomes across SES groups using longitudinal methods.

What is already known about this topic:
Socioeconomic status (SES) influences developmental outcomes.Research has highlighted broad disadvantages for children from lower SES backgrounds across cognitive and academic measures.Mixed findings exist regarding the extent and specificity of SES-related developmental differences.

Socioeconomic status (SES) influences developmental outcomes.

Research has highlighted broad disadvantages for children from lower SES backgrounds across cognitive and academic measures.

Mixed findings exist regarding the extent and specificity of SES-related developmental differences.

What the topic adds:
Children from low-SES schools demonstrated significant disadvantages in academic, cognitive, and intelligence measures in Grade Two, except on the Wisconsin Card Sorting Task and Choice Reaction Time.By Grade Six, while academic differences between SES groups persisted, cognitive differences narrowed, with the high-SES group outperforming the low-SES group only on task (the Wisconsin Card Sorting Task).These findings challenge assumptions of pervasive SES-related disadvantages and underscore the need for longitudinal research to understand developmental trajectories across SES groups.

Children from low-SES schools demonstrated significant disadvantages in academic, cognitive, and intelligence measures in Grade Two, except on the Wisconsin Card Sorting Task and Choice Reaction Time.

By Grade Six, while academic differences between SES groups persisted, cognitive differences narrowed, with the high-SES group outperforming the low-SES group only on task (the Wisconsin Card Sorting Task).

These findings challenge assumptions of pervasive SES-related disadvantages and underscore the need for longitudinal research to understand developmental trajectories across SES groups.