Many countries have implemented the suspension of in-person classes to slow the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. This has resulted in a deepening of existing educational inequalities and has complicated access to academic learning and the development of executive skills during this time, especially in countries like Brazil, where the financial conditions of socioeconomically vulnerable families limited access to technological devices. Given the existing literature on the impact of the pandemic on academic and executive functions, this study sought to evaluate executive functioning as well as reading and writing skills among students in grades 5 to 9 at public elementary schools, comparing these results with pre-pandemic standards. The research included 140 students from three public schools in São Paulo State, Brazil, aged 10 to 14 years (M = 12.5; SD = 1.5), of which 64.62% were female. Regarding grade level, 39.23% were in 5th grade, 16.92% in 6th, 16.15% in 7th, 14.61% in 8th, and 13.09% in 9th. Exclusion criteria included diagnoses of Neurodevelopmental Disorders and low intellectual efficiency (measured by Raven’s Colored Progressive Matrices and Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence). To evaluate executive functioning, the Hayling Test, Digit Span tests, Verbal Fluency Test, and Five Digit Test were employed. Academic performance was assessed using the School Performance Test II (TDE II) for Reading and Writing. Data collection occurred in 2023 and 2024. To analyze differences between the sample of this study and the pre-pandemic normative samples, One Sample t Test was used for normally distributed data (parametric), while the Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used for non-parametric data. Variables were analyzed according to school grade or chronological age, according to the groups available in the tests’ manuals. Statistically significant differences were observed between the sample and normative data across all age groups in the score in Verbal Fluency Test (p = 0.0021 for 10 years; p < 0.0001 for 11-14 years), score in Digit Span tests (p < 0.0001 for 10-13 years; p = 0.0241 for 14 years), and errors in Hayling Test part B (p < 0.0001, 0.0109, 0.001, 0.0078, and 0.0486, respectively). In the Reading subtest, significant differences were found for grades 5 to 8 (p = 0.0001, 0.0039, 0.0003, and 0.0034). Writing subtest performance was lower for grades 5 to 8 (p < .0001, .028, .0003, and < .0001). These results indicated that participants exhibited deficits in executive functioning (verbal fluency, working memory, and inhibitory control) and academic skills (reading and writing) compared to pre-pandemic benchmarks. The study highlights the need for strategies to address and recover these losses, not only in terms of academic performance, but also in relation to executive functioning.

Funding:
Fundo Mackenzie de Pesquisa e Inovação – MACKPESQUISA, Mackenzie Presbyterian University; Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - Brasil (CAPES) - Finance Code 001; research grant number 12/2021 PDPG Impactos da Pandemia, establishing “Rede RecuperaBR”.

Keywords: Academic performance, executive functions, pandemic.