We provide evidence of validity for a newly developed diagnostic competence model of operation sense, by both (a) describing the theoretically substantiated development of the competence model in close association with its use within a large-scale formative assessment and (b) providing empirical evidence for the theoretically described cognitive…

Free-response and card-sort techniques are criticized as to their application to investigating cognitive content. Two studies are presented which examine the validity and reliability of these two techniques when they are used concurrently with college students. (Author)

Aims to assess relationships between phonological tasks, determine their degree of convergence, and investigate the predictive power of different tasks. Ten phonological awareness tasks were administered to 58 kindergarten children whose reading abilities were assessed one year later. Seven measures were moderately related to reading ability and…

A causal modeling system, using confirmatory maximum likelihood factor analysis with the LISREL IV computer program, evaluated the construct validity underlying the higher order factor structure of a given correlation matrix of 46 structure-of-intellect tests emphasizing the product of transformations. (Author/PN)

Study results give strong support to the existence of successive and simultaneous processing dimensions in 77 normal school-age children in grades K-6 and can be interpreted as an independent cross-validation of the model proposed by Das and his colleagues. (Author/CM)

"The Holocaust" is an exercise designed to measure thinking processes of students in grades 8 through 12. It consists of a 14-minute videotape and a four-page handout describing the destruction of the European Jews. The exercise is based on an approach to measuring thinking suggested by the work of E. A. Peel (1971). Peel maintains that…

A three-year combined sample of 103 master's level counseling students was administered five measures of cognitive complexity, selected on the bases of previous factor analytic research and their potential relevance to counseling research. The instruments were designed to measure the processing of social stimuli, and included the Interconcept…

Cognitive preference as used in this research refers to a conscious decision which the subjects were forced to make, thus suggesting a relative rather than an absolute preference as with cognitive style. It was predicted that the scores derived from the cognitive preference scale would serve as good indicators for the mode of instruction from…

Explored validity of new clinical test of verbal memory incorporating constructs from normal and pathological memory research, to quantify the ways examinees learn verbal material. Factor analyses of normal subjects and neurological patients indicated that verbal memory consisted of a number of component factors, reflecting learning strategy,…

Assessed college students on measures of depression, concentration, and academic performance. Depression was negatively related to academic performance, although the relationship between depression and cognitive functioning was not detected on a brief measure of concentration. Suggests that isolated testing sessions may mask the detrimental…

In this study 6,942 items from two standardized achievement test batteries--the Stanford (Early School Achievement Battery, Achievement Battery, and Test of Academic Skills) and the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills--were analyzed. Focus was on determining: (1) the extent to which these test batteries included general cognitive operations (GCOs)…

A study was undertaken to determine if a criterion referenced test based on a Piagetian stage model of reading acquisition was related to grade level, to a standardized reading achievement test, and to a test of cognitive developmental level. Sixty first, second, and third grade children were administered a comprehensive test of basic skills. They…

The primary objectives of this project commonly refereed to as "Assessing Human Abilities" were: (1) to provide reference measures for cognitive factors; and (2) to provide a guide to reference measures for self-report temperament factors. The overall objective was to conduct research in the area of factor analysis directed toward the…

Investigated the factor structure of a battery of tasks hypothesized to measure the constructs of the planning, attention, and simultaneous-successive (PASS) process model of human cognition. Results suggest that the original PASS model provides an improper factor solution. Recommends further refinement of the PASS theory or tests. (RJM)

One approach to increasing our understanding of the rating process is to examine behavioral components of decision-making. Although observable rater behavior during appraisal is still removed from the actual contents of internal processing, these behavioral indices may provide important clues toward identifying determinants of rating success. To…