Education is a vital societal process is aimed at passing not only knowledge but also skills and values that are essential for the growth of an individual and the society in general. Informally, education can be traced back to the prehistoric age where the young were taught key basic life skills that were necessary for survival. In Latin philosophy, education was accepted as not only the impartation of knowledge but as a general system of development of a child and nurturing their talents to face challenges (Lentell, 2004).

In the modern world, education process involves an advanced system of imparting knowledge through the use of essential text, a balanced curriculum program, practical helps and developmental reading (Pllana, 2019). Unlike education in the prehistoric era, modern education integrates new technologies and uses new developmental curricula. The modern educational system required a lot of effort in the early educational stages where children are introduced to reading and use of instructional resources. Early reading literacy skills such as knowledge of alphabets and phonological awareness require a lot of time. The stage is however crucial for student’s academic achievement.

1.1 Executive Dysfunction

In order for children to focus on a task, the working memory must juggle internal information, new ideas and stimuli signals from the environment. Children in this level constantly acquire new information that can be similar or different. For example, in learning alphabets, children will be introduced to the letter “P” and taught its phonology. Later, another letter “R” will” be introduced. Children with issues in executive function will struggle balancing the new information on the letter “R” and the already available internal information on the letter “P”. This process determines an individual’s ability to undergoes a learning process and achieve the intended literacy goals. In the brain, sensory information that is new and incoming needs to be processed and related to already available knowledge in the long-term memory and prepare appropriate responses according to particular goals or as required by the environment (Akers, 2015). This balancing requires a compound mental skills and cognitive process including inhibition behaviors and self-regulation that are crucial in the control of unintended and unplanned learning. These set of mental skills and processes are generally referred to as executive functions. The family of skills is located in the prefrontal cortex part of the brain and enable students to perform composite metal activities including planning, inhibition of behavior, focusing attention and task shifting (Stern, 2017).

Executive function skills are vital cognitive competencies in behavioral management as they enable the control of impulses, environmental stimuli and thought habits. These skills collectively influence cognitive competency and that allow human beings to inhibit intruding information from long-term memory as well as the sensory system. In behavioral representation, executive functions provide fundamental competencies for the staying focused, resisting temptations while taking time to think before taking an action (Diamond, 2013).

There exists elementary students who struggle with learning as they have dysfunctionalities in executive functions. These executive function issues have been a research topic involving wide range of experiments on the treatment of dysfunctions. Attention Deficient Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common form of learning disability and dysfunctionality in executive functions that are exhibited in some students in learning processes. The problem is experienced by many students in the elementary level when taking learning and literacy tasks such as reading, writing cursive letters, mathematics, finishing assignments and focusing attention. Students with executive dysfunctions experience learning difficulties and can end up being frustrated after multiple instance of being taught without improvement. Children in their developing stages and those with executive dysfunction have gasp in their academic learning capabilities. According to Friend (2011, p. 127), students with specific executive dysfunction exhibit one or more psychological disorder in understanding and the use of written and spoken language. The disorder might be manifested though difficulties in writing, listening, spelling or reading.

The disorder makes it challenging for victims to organize, plan themselves realistically and stay focused. In the U.S, the issue affects 2.5 % of the adult population and 8.4% of children between 2-17 years as per 2016 report by the American Psychology Association (Danielson et al., 2018). Individuals with executive dysfunctionalities including ADHD experience serious challenges in their academics. According to Johnson & Reid (2011), individuals with ADHD have skill level as low as two thirds of a standard deviation lower than their counterparts in mathematics, reading and spelling. Students with executive function issues present various difficulties in schooling including completing assignments, individual organization, preparedness before class, attending classes, having necessary material and writing assignments. According to Hinshwa (2002), these students also present inconsistency in and carelessness in school work.

1.1 North West Christian Preschool

North West Christian Preschool is a K-12 public school serving a population of 1,200 students per year. The school has a demographic composition of includes 95% White, 2% Asian, 1% Black and 2% other. There are 645 males making up around 54% of the population and 555 females making up the remaining 44%. The teaching staff is composed of 95 % female, about four-and-a-half in five. The school is a Title II category with the teaching staff consisting of 98% white teachers, 1% Asian and 1% other.

Out of the total student population at North West Christian Preschool, 98% are English Language Learners. Out of the 1,200 enrolled students, 10% are gifted, 9% have executive dysfunction issues, 6% have ADHD and 2 % have speech or language impairment. Children in North West Christian Preschool struggling with executive dysfunction experience difficulties in conceptualizing time, telling the time, recalling information and maintaining self-care as well as other daily life activities. The learning impairments differs from individual to individual starting from around the age of three years. The executive dysfunction among the school population can however be categorized into two groups: significant intellectual function impartment which involves cognition and significant adaptive function impairment which involves the inability to cope with the stimuli from the environment. These children therefore struggle socially and emotionally.

In North West Christian Preschool, children with executive dysfunction often end up being retained for at least a year. Some of these children are actually bright and have good memory but their reading and writing skills remain poor. Additionally, children with LD also face other challenges such as inadequate access to health checks which increases the risks for other health issues and a risk factor for diseases. Schooling children with congenital heart disease which is associated with problems in the fetal development caused by environmental risk factors including lack of access to proper maternal healthcare.

1.2 Academic Need

North West Christian Preschool continues to experience challenges with children as reading, writing and mathematics remains to be a weakness. Students with ADHD experience learning difficulties and be identified by a discrepancy in academic outcomes with their peers as well as the difference between IQ level and actual abilities (Johnson & Reid, 2011). These children exhibit inefficiencies in memory recall and cognitive strategies. In North West Chsitian Preshool

The characteristics of executive dysfunction can be exhibited in various forms of learning difficulties which lead to poor academic outcomes. According to the US Department of Education, the US has a 4.8% rate in the prevalence of learning dysfunctionality. Eighty percent (80%) of them have difficulties in reading. Through the Response to Intervention (RTI) approach, students with executive dysfunctions can be assessed for learning difficulties and identified. The approach is used to detect learning needs among children in elementary level where their early stages of learning processes begin.

2.0 Literature Review

Learning is a universal process that involves changes both in abstract knowledge and behavioral capacity. The learning process in both human and nonhuman is an approach to equip species the capabilities of adjusting, planning and doing certain things differently. The changes in behavioral capacity and present certain characteristics is a fundamental learning objective. Based on how an individual behaves, says or do, we can judge if they are learned or not. The process is therefore inferential as we do not asses a successful learning a program by itself but through the outcomes and products (Ormrod, 2016). The approaches to acquiring knowledge in a learning process can be analyzed through the empiricist and rationalistic learning theories.

According to the rationalistic learning theory, knowledge is acquired from reason without any conscious recourse. The theory is based on Plato’s idea on the assumption that the knowledge of ideas in instinctual and can be recalled from the mind through reflection. On the other hand empiricist learning theory, knowledge is acquired through only though experience. Derived from Aristotle’s philosophy, the theory uses his fundamental idea that learning cannot take part independently without the connection to the external world. The memory and ability to recall is related to objects and experiences. Both human and non-human beings can therefore recall an idea or an object which intern triggers a reflection similar or different object experienced within a close time and space. The associative learning process is exhibited in both human and non-human species.

2.1 Learning from an Evolutionary Perspective

From birth, animal species are expected to accomplish fundamental duties such as mating, avoiding threats and most basic is getting food in order to survive both as a species and an individual (Cosmides & Tooby, 2013). Learning process involves long-time acquisition of knowledge and experience and changes in behavior and mental representation. The expectations on living beings involve the acquisition of a large amount of information as well as various secondary behaviors that are not instinctual. The learning process is therefore a part of the instinctual coping facility that enables all animal beings to cope and adapt to the environment as per the evolutionary psychology perspective. All living beings are therefore equipped with instinctual capabilities to cope with basic environmental and survival needs. From the rational learning theory, birds, as an example of a nonhuman species, are required to fly into order to search for food, escape danger and find mating partners. Beyond this, skills such as those of launching into the air and balancing have to be learned. Insofar, due to differences in environmental variables, the flexibility of the brains is a crucial factor in the development of new relationships between various stimuli and responses in order for a being to adapt optimally.

The learning process in human and non-human beings involves both the classical conditioning and operant conditioning (Hooper et al., 2016). Operant condition influences behavior by its consequence which can be a reward or a punishment. On the other hand, classical conditioning involves the association of a particular stimuli with a response through intermittent reinforcement.

2.2 General Cognitive Perspective

According to the general cognitive perspective learning in human beings involves the knowledge representations that are processed in the mind. Learning in human beings is exponential and encompasses a complex process of encoding, storing and retrieving knowledge representation which is processed within the memory. This processes begins with continuous acquisition of a large amount of information from hearing, touching and sight senses. The information is processed in the sensory memory at the early stage. Unlike other animals, learning in human beings behavior and knowledge acquisition that goal-oriented. In order for the process to be successful, a selective amount of attention is required in order to regulate sensory information. The process requires a set if executive functions that enable individuals to have a working memory capable of maintain information temporarily and manipulate it during cognitive activities (Barrouillet et al., 2011).

The information involved in human learning can be of different symbol system and modalities such as language, music prints, pictorials, scripts and mathematics. Having a working memory influences the learning process as it dictates an individual’s temporary memory and ability to be goal-oriented and consciously process information. This competency is crucial in the integrity of long-term memory storage where abstract and procedural knowledge is stored. In the long-term memory, images, verbal terms and procedures are represented as internetworked nodes with different associative strength (Kintsch & Walter Kintsch, 1998).

The working memory is fundamentally responsible for the regulation of the knowledge from the long-term memory that is activated and the information from the sensory memory. Strong stimuli such as harsh light and noise incoming from the external environment can produce danger signals and interrupt the activities of the working memory. Normally, the working memory the working memory will constantly filter out irrelevant and distracting information in order to focus on particular necessary goals and achieve them undisturbed.

2.3 Learning in Human Beings

To the best of our knowledge, human beings have fundamentally remained the same in term of genetic foundation and the corresponding brain development for the past 50,000 years (Stern, 2017). Throughout the existence, the human species and other living beings are born into a world of expectations. The learning process in human beings is however different from other animal species as it involves more than conditioning making us more complex. In addition to learning how to search for food, shelter and escaping danger, human beings have advanced expectations such as storing and cooking food.

2.4 Executive Dysfunction

Executive dysfunction exhibited though difficulties in learning is a fundamentally failure of the working memory and the ability to inhibit control. Executive function skills can be seen in an individual’s ability to control their behavior and emotions and achieve a focused attention. The lack of these skills often leads individuals to rely only on intuition and instinct which can be insufficient. In order to change and stop doing things as you are used to requires cognitive effort to resist the automatic stimuli-response behavior.

Researchers have assessed the causes and effective treatment for these issues among various populations in a larger effort to explore the role of executive functions. According to Baddeley (1987), executive functions present many components and layers which are related to the functions of the brain. These layers and components and their relation to the brain functions influence the unique and advanced human abilities to plan and manage time that enables creating and focusing on exponential goals. This feature separates the human species from other living beings and allows complex condition and learning processes. The ability to take part in a learning process is however variable among different individuals. Students in learning environments are required to acquire conceptual and procedural knowledge on a specific subject taught in class.

2.4.1 Why Executive Dysfunction is a Problem.

The impact of executive dysfunctions on a student’s learning process and academic outcome can be adverse on in the elementary levels are adversely. The problem is widely prevalent in learning environments and continue to hinder learning processes. Elementary students with learning difficulties have challenges in managing the stimuli from the environment affected and lag behind their peers in academic performance. Issues affecting executive function affect the integrity of the brain and the ability of an individual to control themselves and manage their behavior positively (Chung et al., 2013). These umbrella of cognitive processes affect the goal-oriented behavior of individuals and the ability to adapt to novel situations. Elementary students with executive function issues experience difficulties in taking part in new approaches of doing things. These issues affect the learning process due to lack of self-regulation skills.

2.4.2 Why Executive Dysfunction Should Be Addressed.

The prevalence of executive dysfunction exhibited through difficulties and challenges in writing can be traced back to about half a century ago where writing problems were identified as poor facility in thought expression through language. In 1992, Hart conducted a longitudinal study on an unreferred sample of 300 primary-grade students to conduct a study on learning disabilities. He reported that 1.3%-2.7% of the participants had problems with handwriting while 3% exhibited difficulties in written narrative. In 2002, Hooper et al. (2016), conducted a study on 55 elementary school children and examined executive dysfunction among school children. According to the results, children with writing difficulties had poor executive function skills

According to Akers (2015), students generally possess the potential for developing executive functions. However, this potential can be affected by various factors such as stress level, mental health, physical health maturity and social economic status which affects the quality of life. This challenges can hinder a learner’s ability to take part in a literacy program, achieve reading goals and advance through the academic ladder.

2.5 North West Christian Preschool Mission and Vision

Mission and vision are crucial tenants for education institution as they set out a direction and goal-oriented future (Holosko et al., 2015). Mission and vision statements are important for strategic positioning and alignment for both accreditation purposes and marketing prospects. These declarations are crucial for measuring the success of an initiative or institution. In higher education institutions, mission and vision statements are used to show the services provided by the institution (Ozdem, 2011). The mission of an institution is recorded in the mission statement which captures the purpose of an education institution and the purpose. The mission of North West Christian Preschool School is to offer a suitable learning opportunity for all students through the acknowledgement and inclusion of students with special learning disabilities. As a school in the US where the prevalence rate of executive dysfunction is 4.8% with 80% of the students having difficulties in reading, the mission will help in directing the school toward a conscious path of identifying children with executive dysfunction and learning disability.

A vision is a statement of declaration of the objective to provide guidance on internal organization and performance. The vision for North West Christian Preschool School is to provide to be a leading education institution in providing inclusive learning environment for students with learning disabilities.

Diversity Diversity involves the acceptance and inclusion of individual uniqueness while at the same time recognizing individual differences. Diversity can be approached from various perspectives including ethnicity, gender, race, religion, socioeconomic background, cognitive abilities among others. In the Title II, K-12 private school setting, North West Christian School is a mirror of the dynamics in the demographics in the education fraternity in the country. The demographic is characterized by a limited composition of students from few ethnicities, social economic status and academic abilities. The school is composed of a predominantly White student population at 95%.

North West Christian Preschool has a significant number of students with executive dysfunction issues. It includes 9% students with general executive disorders. Among this these, there are 60% students have ADHD, 30% have speech and or language impairment.

The staff is also majority White at 98%. According to an evidence-based research by the Royal Society of Chemistry, diversity a more diverse workforce is characterized diversity in the leadership level and representation of the wider uniqueness (Science Council, 2018).

The school has a huge number of English Language Learners as well as a large number of Hispanic and African American population. In addition, the school has a huge number of students with language impartment and executive function issues. In such as school with low number of ethnic composition a, handling such issues such as in the Newest Christian, it can be challenging

As an educator, taking an elementary student through a learning process can be daunting and frustrating experience if they do not have the necessary cognitive competencies. The experience can is also difficult for the learner as they often left helpless after a series of lesson and being taught a concept without any performance outcome. Children from minority migrant workers, those who are homeless and those with disabilities

Hypothesis

According to Faramarzi et al. (2015), the use psychological intervention and specialized educational learning approaches and instructional resources can be used to improve the academic performance of students with learning disabilities. According to the meta-analysis, students with writing, math and dyslexia which are evidence of executive dysfunctionality in the short term and working memory (Bull et al., 2008). Regression analysis revealed that the working memory and visual short-term memory specifically predict academic achievement in math in elementary children at the age of 7 years. Executive functions on the other hand were found to predict learning success in more general learning domain. A learner’s ability to read and take mathematical tests successfully are correlated to their level cognitive skills in their early elementary levels of education.

Learning disabilities can be handled by using a systematic series of programs that uses special instructional approaches in order to supplement the inadequacies of conventional curriculum in teaching children with executive dysfunction. The academic performance of elementary children with learning disabilities is dependent on the instructional resources. This requires specific staffing requirements that will address the weaknesses of these children. Using targeted assistance, children with executive dysfunctions exhibited through learning disabilities and poor academic performance can improve in their cognitive and behavioral abilities.

3.0 Strategic Action Plan

3.1 Legal Ethical Considerations

As an educator handling elementary students with any form of disability, there are various considerations that need to be taken into account. School administrators and teaching fraternity must be aware of the legal issues that relate to interactions with a students with disability. In order to ensure that the rights of students with learning disabilities are not violated, educators must first ensure that have a moral code and all choices are made only to the best interests on the leaners’. The strategic plan for the action plan intended to help students with learning disabilities to learn self-control and other executive function skills that will help in in inhibition and focusing attention. In addition to adhering to legal requirements, I believe educators are also mandated to be ethically responsive to children with learning disabilities and take into considerations their pedagogical needs.

3.2 Legal and Ethical Consideration.

According to Congressional Law, disability is an inherent part of the human experience and does not diminish an individual’s rights to take part and contribute in societal process (ESSA). The U.S Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights is mandated to enforce various federal laws that protects the rights of children with learning disability. The institution enforces Section 504 of the ADA, Title II of the IDEA on the eligibility of students with disability and the Rehabilitation Act .

Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The legislation was enacted in 1965 that asserts national commitment to provide equal opportunities for students.

Every Student Succeeds Act. The law was enacted in 2015 by President Obama and includes provisions for students with learning disabilities by developing effective teaching resources through federal and state funding.

Title I. This section offers children with learning disabilities with opportunities to close the gaps in educational achievements and receive equitable and high-quality education. It provides funding for supporting early learning and help children with poor executive dysfunctions meet educational standards, take part in engaging and active interests. This section offers more than 350,000 students annual academic services to help those struggling in academics.

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 1990 was enacted to replace the previous All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 (EHA). The law protects all individuals with a specific form of disability and therefore requires different design of special instructions. Individuals with definitive specific learning impartment and those with speech and language impairment are eligible as beneficiaries of the protections (IDEA, 1990). Under the law, children between the age of three and twenty-one are given a free special intervention services and special education services.

The law was changed under the authorization of the Unite States Congress with an aim of providing all children with disabilities with opportunity for education. It is one of the main legislations that address the rights of children with learning disability among others. It consists of four parts, A, B, C and D where all states are mandated to provide free and appropriate learning opportunities for all children without discrimination based on abilities or disabilities.

The law explicitly covers a wide range of disabilities including health impairments, mobility impairments, hearing impairments, blindness, hearing impairments. The law also include children with learning disabilities as one of the vulnerable individuals in the education sector.

The Rehabilitation Act. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is a federal law that mandates states to protect the rights of students with disabilities. This is, among others, one of the main legislations that prohibit the discrimination of individuals based on disabilities. The law explicitly prohibits schools from excluding from participating in, be subjected to any kind of discrimination or be denied benefits of an activity or a program of a public entity.

ADA. The Americans with Disability Act provides a broad coverage on the civil rights of individuals with disabilities and offers protection from various injustices including discrimination in various aspects.

Title II. The second title of the ADA is enforced by the OCR and prohibits any discrimination of individuals with disabilities by any agent and organ of the state and local government including public schools.

3.3 Action Plan

Problem North West Christian Preschool is facing significantly poor records in academic performance. The school has recorder poor performance for the past five years consecutively with 20% of elementary students having low grades necessary to advance to middle school. Each year, 10% of enrollees are placed under retained probation with only a quarter of them managing to advance to the next class.

Hypothesis. The use of a specialized intervention, the academic outcomes of preschool children can be improved by supplementing educational instructions with psychological therapy to reduce test anxiety and improve academic. According to Beau hemin et al. (2008), children with learning disabilities have high levels of stress and anxiety as well as less social skills compared to their normal peers. These factors create mental stimuli and cognitive interference. Children with poor executive function skills cannot filter out these information and end up with significant levels of anxiety which interfere with learning processes.

Stakeholders. The process of effecting substantial change in an individual’s cognitive competency requires consulted efforts from various stakeholders. Being a teacher, helping a child with learning disabilities requires more than just teaching and administration. Nevertheless, teachers are central actors in the improvement of academic performance among these children. Additional effort from school administrations, parents, learners and the wider teaching fraternity will set the directions, standards and shared vision on making North West Christian Preschool elementary kids with leaning difficulties academically successful. The vision for improving academic performance among the learners must be shared and reviewed continuously.

Setting specific goals and standard is a crucial approach in improving academic performance among children with learning disabilities. Setting high standards will allow the stakeholders to have a basis of reference and equip them with a motivation. Setting goals for specific stakeholders will be instrumental in providing consulted efforts. Teaching staff must set high standards for themselves in order to hold each other accountable. Students on the other hand must know their role though expectations. The teacher-student relationship requires solid trust. Teachers will be required to use social skills and psychological therapy to help students in understanding mathematical concepts.

In the intervention, educational resources and psychological therapy will be used in the leaning processes in imparting abstract knowledge and supporting cognitive development. The use of psychological therapy is crucial in helping students to acquire abstract knowledge and develop executive function skills to manage themselves in an any learning environment.

Phase I – Gaining Stakeholder Support. This step before the start of an academic year that crucial in the success of the intervention program. For the intervention process to be effective, all stakeholders must commit to the program and standards. Training conferences are crucial in educating stakeholders on the intervention program and the vision to improve academic performance. It will involve selling the vision of the intervention and the renewed mission of the school to offer a conducive learning environment for children depending on their needs. The community, parents, teachers and school administrations will be taken through an assessment training on learner’s progress and ensure that each individual student is catered to their needs.

Phase II – Assessment Measures and Monitoring Progress. The progress of the intervention will be tracked using various approaches to performance indicators. In the intervention program on reading literacy goal on children with executive functions, measuring progress is key in the evaluation of how effective and successful is the intervention program.

Performance Indicators. Performance indicators are the measurable outputs and outcomes of the intervention which are based on pre-established goals. Performance indicators show the progress of s strategic operation based on a focused set of intended results (Key Performance Indicators, 2017). The goal of this research intervention is to improve the academic performance of students with executive function issues. In the intervention program on North West Christian Preschool, the main and general performance indicator is the improvement in academic performance of the school.

Data Points. The progress assessment tools will measure the academic achievements and progress. The key academic data point and expectation for the intervention program is reading capabilities which is the specific literacy goal. Reading is a fundamental building block of literacy success as it involves a cognitive process of decoding of words, spelling, cognition and comprehension (Snelbaker et al., 2001). In the North West Christian Preschool case example, English is the language used in instructional resources and communication. In kindergarten education, children undergo their first experience with literacy where they are taught how to spell, write and read words.

Reading is a solid test for the executive function since the later influences the credibility of the working memory in thinking flexibility (Witty, 1949). This aspect is crucial in learning as it allows human beings to learn new things by adopting new rules and relinquish previously held knowledge. In reading, the mastery of alphabets and understanding meaning of words requires children to constantly acquire new information that can be different or similar to the information already held in the brain (Snelbaker et al., 2001). For example, when learning alphabets, a child may first learn the letter “P”. When encountering the letter “R”, the similarity in the structure might be confusing. Children with executive function issues will struggle to relinquish new information and accept new one. The accuracy in reading letter, and oral arithmetic words is therefore a key measurable performance indicator on individual achievement (Mayston, 2003).

On the school level, the achievement of the whole school is measured in relation to the performance of other schools. This performance indicator is measured using the mean performance of another general academic improvement goal include the overall improvement in performance.

Phase III: Monitoring Progress Stakeholders in North West Christian Preschool will be

Measuring progress of the North West Christian Preschool children’s academic capabilities will be assessed after every three months for individual reading capabilities. This assessment can be administered by a teacher trained on using a performance measuring tool.

4.0 Plan for Assessment & Building Community

The assessment plan is crucial in the implementation of the project on North West Christian Preschool performance improvement program. For a project with specific and predetermined improvement goals, school assessment on the progress assessments must measure the improvement in specific academic outcomes of students with ADHD in reading by 40% in a one-year time period. The measurement must also show the general improvement in the general academic performance of the school by 30%.

4.1 Measurement Techniques

4.1.1 NWEA Screening Test. This is a generally standardized K-12 assessment techniques that can be customized for Pre-K kindergarten kids through six graders. The K-2 special testing techniques that is recommended for early learners in the kindergarten stage (Minneapolis, 2017). The test is applied thrice a year in Fall, Winter and Spring after implementation of an educational and psychological intervention. The results will be available as soon as the assessment is done and the results analyzed to assess the progress and compare their performance with other students nationally. It uses a computerized adaptive test to measures improvement in proficiency in reading.

4.1.2 Wechsler’s Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-V). This is the first assessment toot that is used in the measurement of intellectual abilities of children with ADHD from 5 years to 16 years (Gomez et al., 2016). The tool was developed to administer intelligence test exhibited through general cognitive abilities individually. It measures intellectual functioning in working memory, verbal comprehension, processing speed and perceptual reasoning subscales.

Cohen Table Effect Size. The second approach is the Cohen’s table effect size used in meta-analytical comparison of the mean performance through the strength in the relationship of a student’s mean performance with a mean average (Faramarzi et al., 2015). Additionally, the school’s performance is advisably tested against the performance of the national performance.

FastBridge Assessment Tool. The second assessment tool it the FastBridge assessment used in assessing the effectiveness of an intervention within set variables such as time and specific curriculum outcomes such as Curriculum-Based Measurement and Computer-Adaptive Test to make assessment on reading abilities over time (FastBridge Learnin LLC, 2017). Using both Curriculum-Based Measurement and Computer-Adaptive Test make the tool reliable in testing for the effectiveness of the reading intervention. Social-Emotional Behavior measure is also used in the FastBridge assessment to produce a holistic view on the progress and improvement in the general academic performance.

4.2 Timelines.

The success of the intervention in North West Christian Preschool will based on the reasonable time period for implementation and achievement of desired goals. The intervention will be applied for a period of one year where individual assessments will be conducted after every three months. The assessment all-inclusive intervention for the whole school will be at the end of the year after which the results will be compared to the district, state or national statistics.

Reading proficiency. Keeping track and recording the progress and reading abilities in individual children and the general performance improvement. Reading proficiency in kindergarten children involves fluency in pronouncing letter sounds and predicting spelling (Lee & Bierman, 2015). The method of improving reading proficiency used is the Path to Reading Excellence in School Sites (PRESS) model. The model is applied K-12 education systems for children in kindergarten through grade five (Gross, 2018). It offers regular instructional approaches as well as special classrooms for education. According to PRES (2017), the Path to Reading Excellence in School Sites model is a support-based multitiered system that is driven by research. The system establishes practices to be used by schools in offering all-inclusive education opportunities for learners to become proficient in reading (Press 2016).

4.3 Reporting Results.

Disseminating results collected from the intervention assessment process can be done to the appropriate stakeholders. Key stakeholders including parents must be informed of the individual progress of their children. Parents can be contacted through the post or via emails though which the results can be communicated as soon as they are ready.

4.2 Community Awareness

The success of the intervention to be successful and produce anticipated results, all relevant parties must be involved. Involving the community in an all-inclusive project will create a strong link between students, teachers, parents and school administration. Developing partnerships between parents and schools in the early stages of an intervention can be a deciding factor in the success of the project. The key strategy is being transparent as possible to initiate open communication and engagement with community members. Face-to-face contact is a key method in approaching the community around North West Christian Preschool and developing deep connections with members.

Stakeholder conferences that bring together parents, teacher, government agencies and school administration are solid platforms to engage with the community and communicate the mission and vision of the school to be inclusive and offer adequate learning environment for all students. Selling the vision and mission can also be done through traditional communication methods face-to-face communication is a particularly critical approach in consultation with community members. Stakeholders can meet in discussion groups, committees and open space events where the mission, vision and the gaps in learning capabilities can be communicated easily to the relevant audience using a tailored language and style. Modern communication channels such as the use of brochures and pamphlets which can be ported into oral videos and shared via modern communication techniques. According to Reisch et. al (2013), the use of print marketing techniques such as posters, slogans an brochures is effective in recruiting community members.

References

Akers, D. (2015). How Does Executive Function Skills Instruction Impact Student Executive Function Levels And Academic Achievement On Common Core State Standards Assessments? [PhD Thesis]. University of Mississippi.

Barrouillet, P., Portrat, S., & Camos, V. (2011). On the law relating processing to storage in working memory. Psychological Review, 118(2), 175.

Beauchemin, J., Hutchins, T. L., & Patterson, F. (2008). Mindfulness Meditation May Lessen Anxiety, Promote Social Skills, and Improve Academic Performance Among Adolescents With Learning Disabilities: Complementary Health Practice Review. https://doi.org/10.1177/1533210107311624

Bull, R., Espy, K. A., & Wiebe, S. A. (2008). Short-Term Memory, Working Memory, and Executive Functioning in Preschoolers: Longitudinal Predictors of Mathematical Achievement at Age 7 Years. Developmental Neuropsychology, 33(3), 205–228. https://doi.org/10.1080/87565640801982312

Chan, R. C. K., Shum, D., Toulopoulou, T., & Chen, E. Y. H. (2008). Assessment of executive functions: Review of instruments and identification of critical issues. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 23(2), 201–216. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acn.2007.08.010

Chung, C. S., Pollock, A., Campbell, T., Durward, B. R., & Hagen, S. (2013). Cognitive rehabilitation for executive dysfunction in adults with stroke or other adult non‐progressive acquired brain damage. The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2013(4). https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD008391.pub2

Cosmides, L., & Tooby, J. (2013). Evolutionary psychology: New perspectives on cognition and motivation. Annual Review of Psychology, 64, 201–229. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.121208.131628

Danielson, M. L., Bitsko, R. H., Ghandour, R. M., Holbrook, J. R., Kogan, M. D., & Blumberg, S. J. (2018). Prevalence of Parent-Reported ADHD Diagnosis and Associated Treatment Among U.S. Children and Adolescents, 2016. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 47(2), 199–212. https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2017.1417860

Diamond, A. (2013). Executive Functions. Annual Review of Psychology, 64, 135. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-113011-143750

Faramarzi, S., Shamsi, A., Samadi, M., & Ahmadzade, M. (2015). Meta-analysis of the efficacy of psychological and educational interventions to improve academic performance of students with learning disabilities in Iran. Journal of Education and Health Promotion, 4, 58. https://doi.org/10.4103/2277-9531.162372

FastBridge Learnin LLC. (2017). Reading Assessments. FastBridge Learning. https://www.fastbridge.org/reading/

Fereshté, B., Sh.a.s, B., & D, M. (2006). EFFECTS OF NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL TREATMENT ON THE READING EFFICIENCY OF IRANIAN STUDENTS WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DYSLEXIA OF LINGUISTIC TYPE. 2(12), 107–124.

Friend, M. (2011). Special Education: Contemporary Perspectives for School Professionals plus MyLab Education with Enhanced Pearson eText, Loose-Leaf Version — Access … Edition) (5 edition). Pearson.

Gomez, R., Vance, A., & Watson, S. D. (2016). Structure of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children – Fourth Edition in a Group of Children with ADHD. Frontiers in Psychology, 7. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00737

Gross, K. P. (2018). Intervention Curriculum Based Off Of Fastbridge Kindergarten Assessments. Undefined. /paper/Intervention-Curriculum-Based-Off-Of-Fastbridge-Gross/70013e65b4ff11995b4612663d45f3a6e438f175

Holosko, M., Winkel, M., Crandall, C., & Briggs, H. (2015). A Content Analysis of Mission Statements of Our Top 50 Schools of Social Work. Journal of Social Work Education, 51, 222–236. https://doi.org/10.1080/10437797.2015.1012922

Hooper, S. R., Swartz, C. W., Wakely, M. B., Kruif, R. E. L. de, & Montgomery, J. W. (2016). Executive Functions in Elementary School Children With and Without Problems in Written Expression: Journal of Learning Disabilities. https://doi.org/10.1177/002221940203500105

IDEA. (1990). About IDEA. Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. https://sites.ed.gov/idea/about-idea/

Johnson, J., & Reid, R. (2011). Overcoming Executive Function Deficits With Students With ADHD. Theory Into Practice, 50, 61–67. https://doi.org/10.1080/00405841.2010.534942

Kenan, S. (2009). The Missing Dimension of Modern Education: Values Education. Educational Sciences: Theory and Practice, 9(1), 279–295.

Key Performance Indicators. (2017). What is a Key Performance Indicator (KPI)? Key Performance Indicators. https://kpi.org/KPI-Basics

Kintsch, W., & Walter Kintsch, C. (1998). Comprehension: A paradigm for cognition. Cambridge university press.

Lee, P., & Bierman, K. L. (2015). Classroom and Teacher Support in Kindergarten: Associations with the Behavioral and Academic Adjustment of Low-Income Students. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly (Wayne State University. Press), 61(3), 383–411. https://doi.org/10.13110/merrpalmquar1982.61.3.0383

Mayston, D. J. (2003). Measuring and Managing Educational Performance. The Journal of the Operational Research Society, 54(7), 679–691. JSTOR.

Mead, A. R. (1959). Mental Discipline in Modern Education, by Walter B. Kolesnik. Madison, Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press, 1958. 231 pp. $3.50. The Educational Forum, 24(1), 115–117. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131725909339489

Minneapolis, 1616 Buchanan Street NE. (2017). About the NWEA Assessments | Yinghua Academy. https://www.yinghuaacademy.org/resources/assessments/about-the-nweas/about-the-nwea-assessments/

Ormrod, J. E. (2016). Human learning. Pearson Higher Ed.

Ozdem, G. (2011). An Analysis of the Mission and Vision Statements on the Strategic Plans of Higher Education Institutions. Educational Sciences: Theory and Practice, 11(4), 1887–1894.

Pllana, D. (2019). Creativity in Modern Education. https://doi.org/10.5430/WJE.V9N2P136

Press. (2016, 2017). Press. Minnesota Center for Reading Research. https://presscommunity.org/

Riesch, S. K., Ngui, E. M., Ehlert, C., Miller, M. K., Cronk, C. A., Leuthner, S., Strehlow, M., Hewitt, J. B., & Durkin, M. S. (2013). Community Outreach and Engagement Strategies from the Wisconsin Study Center of the National Children’s Study. Public Health Nursing, 30(3), 254–265. https://doi.org/10.1111/phn.12018

Sanz, J. H., Berl, M. M., Armour, A. C., Wang, J., Cheng, Y. I., & Donofrio, M. T. (2017). Prevalence and pattern of executive dysfunction in school age children with congenital heart disease. Congenital Heart Disease, 12(2), 202–209. https://doi.org/10.1111/chd.12427

Science Council. (2018, December 10). Inclusion and Diversity: The importance of an evidence based approach. The Science Council ~. https://sciencecouncil.org/inclusion-and-diversity-the-importance-of-an-evidence-based-approach/

Snapshot. (n.d.). Retrieved July 12, 2020, from https://www.yinghuaacademy.org/resources/assessments/about-the-nweas/about-the-nwea-assessments/

Snelbaker, A. J., Wilkinson, G. S., Robertson, G. J., & Glutting, J. J. (2001). Wide Range Achievement Test 3 (wrat3). In W. I. Dorfman & M. Hersen (Eds.), Understanding Psychological Assessment (pp. 259–274). Springer US. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-1185-4_13

Stern, E. (2017). Individual differences in the learning potential of human beings. Npj Science of Learning, 2(1), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41539-016-0003-0

Wachelka, D., & Katz, R. C. (1999). Reducing test anxiety and improving academic self-esteem in high school and college students with learning disabilities. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 30(3), 191–198. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0005-7916(99)00024-5

Witty, P. (1949). Reading in modern education (pp. xvi, 319). D C Heath.

Yuan, J., Zeng, A. Y., Skibniewski, M. J., & Li, Q. (2009). Selection of performance objectives and key performance indicators in public–private partnership projects to achieve value for money. Construction Management and Economics, 27(3), 253–270. https://doi.org/10.1080/01446190902748705

How Executive Function Issues Such As ADHD Hinders a Student’s Ability to Meet Reading Literacy/ Goals/Levels

Pssst… we can write an original essay just for you.

1.0 Research Investigation