Despite substantial evidence for the link between an individual's intelligence and successful life outcomes, questions about what defines intelligence have remained the focus of heated dispute. The most common approach to understanding intelligence has been to investigate what performance on tests of intellect is and is not associated with. This…

The seven articles in this special issue are concerned with the challenges of assessing complex aspects of cognition in the domains of mathematics, reading, history, and science. Each describes the design of assessments and their interpretive use, with a particular focus on assessments closely tied to classroom instruction. Individually and…

The potential utility of a distinction between "automatic (or spontaneous) and implicit" versus "controlled and explicit" processes in theory of mind (ToM) is undercut by the fact that the terms can be employed to describe different but related distinctions within cognitive systems serving that function. These include distinctions in the…

Scientific literacy is now seen as an essential component of informed citizenship and a key curriculum goal in many parts of the world. The relevant literature is vast and replete with a variety of definitions, descriptions, prescriptions, slogans and theoretical perspectives. It addresses not only formal education but also fields as diverse as…

New studies on how language learning occurs are beginning to chip away at some long-held notions about second-language acquisition and point to potential learning benefits for students who speak more than one language. New National Science Foundation-funded collaborations among educators, cognitive scientists, neuroscientists, psychologists, and…

To pursue goal directed behavior, the cognitive system must be shielded against interference from irrelevant information. Aside from the online adjustment of cognitive control widely discussed in the literature, an additional mechanism of preventive goal shielding is suggested that circumvents irrelevant information from being processed in the…

Executive functions (EF) are a group of interrelated complex mental abilities that are involved in planning and initiating goals and carrying them through despite interruptions. As these functions are typically higher-order and involved in integrating other, more basic, lower-order functions, they are difficult to assess directly, and executive…

Cognitive scientists were not quick to embrace the functional neuroimaging technologies that emerged during the late 20th century. In this new century, cognitive scientists continue to question, not unreasonably, the relevance of functional neuroimaging investigations that fail to address questions of interest to cognitive science. However, some…

The article describes an approach to cognitive assessment of disabled readers synthesizing traditional psychometric with recent information-processing methods. Guidelines for using information-processing measures are also provided. (Author/DB)

Electrophysiology is a timely and important tool in the study of early cognitive development. This commentary polishes the definition of event-related potential (ERP) components; often interpreted as expressions of mental processes. Further, attention is drawn to time-frequency analysis of the electroencephalogram (EEG) which conveys much more…

The paper describes learning disability or reading disability in terms of deficiencies in processing information. An integrated view of intelligence as cognitive processing is offered followed by a demonstration of how tests of information processing have successfully revealed strengths and weakness of cognitive processes relating to reading.…

Argues that cognitive style diagnosis gives a strong and rational basis to a personalized approach to education. Discusses the relationship between information processing and learning style. Describes the National Association of Secondary School Principals'"Learning Style Profile," which assesses students' perceptual responses, cognitive…

Chronometric methods of cognitive assessment of learning disabled students which measure speed of response to elementary cognitive tasks requiring minimal prior knowledge are discussed. Chronometric techniques known to correlate with IQ and other indexes of mental efficiency and scholastic proficiency are described. (Author/DB)

Reviews psychometric approaches to problems of modeling student achievement (the student model) within intelligent tutoring systems (ITS). A number of cognitively oriented psychometric approaches, including latent-trait models, statistical pattern recognition methods, and causal probabilistic networks are described and discussed within the current…

The brain sciences and education is the topic for this yearbook volume, which is divided into five parts. Part one consists of an introduction to the brain sciences that is a primer on the neuroanatomy, neurochemistry, and neurophysiology of the brain. Part two contains chapters on some of the basic processes of the brain: attention, cognition,…