Journals > Journal: School Readiness: Closing Racial and Ethnic Gaps > Article: Neuroscience Perspectives on Disparities in School Readiness and Cognitive Achievement
Journal Issue: School Readiness: Closing Racial and Ethnic Gaps Volume 15 Number 1 Spring 2005
Kimberly G. Noble Nim Tottenham B.J. Casey
Introduction
Racial disparities in school readiness among America's preschoolers are strong and persistent. As elaborated elsewhere in this volume, many aspects of childhood experience, including health, parenting, stress, violence, and access to resources, contribute to these disparities. Many of these same experiences, including chronic stress and cognitive stimulation, also affect brain development in both animals and humans, suggesting a possible pathway between experience and ability.
To show how differences in brain development may ultimately link experience and academic achievement, we focus in this article on three core neurocognitive systems that are crucial for school readiness. Typical measures of school readiness such as achievement tests or even IQ tests are quite imprecise from the perspective of brain science.1 These tests assess a diverse set of mental processes, involving many neural systems, without telling much about the specific systems of the child's mind and brain that are most involved in school readiness. Recent work in the field of cognitive neuroscience, however, has made it possible to assess the specific neurocognitive systems or brain regions involved in particular cognitive skills. Using new neuroimaging methods, researchers can design cognitive tests that assess a single system, enabling them to understand more precisely the cognitive processes and underlying brain regions whose development contributes to differences in achievement. Ultimately, specific neurocognitive systems might be differentially targeted by early educational interventions.
We begin by introducing the three neurocognitive systems, including the cognitive processes involved, the types of tests used for assessment, and the brain regions implicated. We touch on the limited research into racial differences across these systems and discuss some links between socioeconomic background and neurocognitive performance. We then discuss research findings about how experience can influence development of these systems. We conclude by drawing implications for educational interventions on early brain and cognitive development in these systems.
