Learning to read depends on the ability to extract precise details of letter combinations, which convey critical information that distinguishes tens of thousands of visual word forms. To support fluent reading skill, one crucial neural developmental process is one's brain sensitivity to statistical constraints inherent in combining letters into…

Children took a group test of disjunctive reasoning containing 48 inclusive and exclusive items varying in content of the premises, and affirmation or negation of the conclusion. Performance improved until seventh grade. Negative conclusions produced more correct answers. Implications were discussed in relation to cognitive developmental theory…

A group of 30 institutionalized "predelinquent" preadolescents and 30 public school nondelinquent preadolescents were compared on Kagan's Matching Familiar Figures Test (MFF) of cognitive impulsivity. Contrary to predictions, predelinquents were more reflective than nondelinquents on both the latency and error dimensions of the MFF.…

Compared the performance of 21 moderately mentally retarded children on the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities (MSCA), Stanford-Binet, and Minnesota Child Development Inventory (MCDI). Mental age estimates from the three measures correlated significantly, but valid MSCA Index scores could not be obtained. (JAC)

Suggests several strategies for evaluating the learning potential and measuring the progress of the disadvantaged child based on the process of the individual: who he is, what he can do, and what he desires to accomplish. (TO)

Students' own preconceptions are often resistant to change. According to researchers, conceptual conflict is an important factor in conceptual change; however, there is not enough evidence showing any relationship between cognitive conflict and conceptual change in the literature. This study aims to develop and validate the Cognitive Conflict…

Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) test-retest data with a six-month interval were obtained for 45 normal l0-year-old children. Verbal IQ estimates were stable, but significant practice effects were obtained on performance and full scale IQ estimates. Discussion focused on test readministration. (Author/RL)

Discusses the problems of using chronometric analysis, a common cognitive psychological method, for educational assessment. Suggests that cognitive assessment has not reached the precision needed to analyze individual differences. (FMW)

Examines the factor structure of the Learning Behavior Scale (LBS) in a sample of 257 elementary school students. Results indicate that the internal consistency of the total LBS scores were high enough for individual decision making, whereas the reliability estimates of scores on the Attention/Persistence and Strategy/Flexibility subscales were…

Rudolf Arnheim, former Harvard Professor of the Psychology of Art, developed a theory that the perception of the structure of things in the world is based on simultaneous use of two primary systems: (1) the cosmic system of concentricity and (2) the parochial system of the Cartesian grid. The Cartesin grid imposes order, while the concentric…

Cross-validated the factor analysis of the McCarthy Scales and determined construct validity for children who score one standard deviation below the normative mean on general cognitive ability. Findings discourage interpretation of the Quantitative Scale for school-age children with General Cognitive Indexes below 84. (Author)

The results of this study provide evidence that schools reduce the variance of learned cognitive skills among children. (MM)

This study investigates the effects of adapting elementary science instruction to students' entering achievement levels on three dependent variables: (1) performance on tests of science content knowledge; (2) mastery of lesson objectives; and (3) attitude toward science. Subjects were 235 sixth graders from four elementary schools in a small,…

One method of evaluating comprehension and language growth consists of analyzing the oral or written answers to questions about stories read to or by students and about visual representations. The method is applicable to various content areas at all levels of instruction. The T-unit or communication unit, the linguistic unit that cannot be further…

The authors evaluate two tests, the "memory code" and the "image generation," which were given to a group of 33 seven-year-old children to measure their imagery performance while reading and listening to prose. Test results and practical implications for education are discussed. (Author/DB)