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The Problem

Opportunity isn’t equal
Low-income students face systemic barriers to economic mobility: 
  • Low-income kindergarteners in the top 50% of test scores have only a 30% chance of reaching high socioeconomic status.
    • Their affluent peers? 70%.
  • Today, only 50% of children can expect to out-earn their parents, down from 90% in the 1940s.
  • Children born into poverty have less than an 8% chance of securing a high-income job.
  • Even among those who pursue higher education, just 11% of first-generation low-income students earn a bachelor’s degree within six years.

These numbers don’t reflect a lack of ability. They reflect a lack of opportunity, support, and access to the cognitive tools that make long-term success possible.

What the research shows

The missing skill? Metacompetence.
Success depends less on raw intelligence than on mastering key metacognitive and executive function skills.
Metacompetence is the ability to understand how we observe, interpret, and engage with the world around us. It’s foundational for navigating complexity, sustaining focus, and adapting to challenges.
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Studies show:
  • Individuals with stronger sociocultural metacompetence report fewer negative life events.
  • Those from lower-income communities often lack the resources needed to build this skill—especially in early childhood, when executive function is developing.
  • By 8th grade, only 30% of low-income students who were top scorers in kindergarten math remain in the top half.

​We’re teaching the tools that help students unlock their own ability to thrive.

Our Impact

Since 2012, we’ve worked with incarcerated students—often the most overlooked learners—and seen firsthand the power of metacognitive education.
“Success can be taught. And we’ve proven it in the places where people least expect it.” – Andres Idarraga

​TTEF’s framework that has proven successful in correctional facilities. We’re expanding to serve high schools, community colleges, and underserved communities nationwide to increase our impact. When we give students the tools to succeed, they will.
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