Background: Teachers' and parents' judgements of pupils' cognitive abilities influence pupils' daily learning opportunities and experiences, as these judgements affect the difficulty level of materials and instruction that teachers and parents provide. Over time, these judgements thus significantly shape educational success. However, pupils'…

Background: Language-based cognitive fitness describes the ability to carry out cognitive tasks with vigour and alertness, to learn, and to adapt. Aims: The purpose of this research was to test the efficacy of a brain fitness training programme to better understand the role played by three precursor abilities for language-based cognitive…

Background and Aims: In educational measurement, performance assessments occupy a niche for offering a true-to-life format that affords the measurement of high-level cognitive competencies and the evidence to draw inferences about intellectual capital. However, true-to-life formats also introduce myriad complexities and can skew if not outright…

Background: The effect of morningness-eveningness, sleep habits, and intelligence on academic performance has been studied in a fixed morning school shift. However, no studies have analysed these variables in an afternoon school shift and tested whether morningness-eveningness is related to academic performance beyond sleep habits and intelligence…

Background: The majority of available psychometric tests originates from the Western World and was designed to suit the culture, language, and socio-economic status of the respective populations. Few tests have been validated in the developing world despite the growing interest in examining effects of biological and environmental factors on…

Background: Strand, Deary, and Smith (2006) reported an analysis of sex differences on the Cognitive Abilities Test (CAT) for over 320,000 UK students 11-12 years old. Although mean differences were small, males were overrepresented at the upper and lower extremes of the score distributions on the quantitative and non-verbal batteries and at the…

Background: Chronotype refers to individuals' preference for morning or evening activities. Its two dimensions (morningness and eveningness) are related to a number of academic outcomes. Aims: The main goal of the study was to investigate the incremental validity of chronotype as a predictor of academic achievement after controlling for a number…

Background: The use of cognitive tests is increasing in Africa but little is known about how such tests are affected by the great ethnic and linguistic diversity on the continent. Aim: To assess ethnic and linguistic group differences in cognitive test performance in the West African country of the Gambia and to investigate the sources of these…

Reports a new technique for assessing conservation of liquid quantity using sealed bottles. When used with a sample of 40 six- and seven-year-olds, results correlated strongly with those of the traditional Piagetian task involving pouring. (SJL)

Background: The behavioural and academic performance of young children with teachers' reported hyperactivity, conduct problems or inattention is under debate. Aim: This study investigates the associations between teachers' reported behavioural difficulties and academic and cognitive performances in two large samples of preschool and school…

Attempts to relate the spelling errors of secondary school students to visual and auditory sequential memory, intelligence, reading, and writing speed. The relation of spelling ability to the frequency and regularity of words is also examined. (Author/RK)

This study investigated some relationships between age, socioeconomic status (SES), and cognitive task performance among 120 Canadian children from Grades 1 and 4. Subjects were administered a battery of tasks, including Raven's Colored Progressive Matrices and Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, which differed in transformational requirements and…

Describes a study of 323 fifth and sixth grade students which was conducted in Australia to examine cognitive processing of gifted children compared with normal and above average ability children. Highlights include the role of planning in cognition, tests used, and a factor analysis of results. Fifty-one references are listed. (Author/LRW)