It is difficult to get a good grasp of the topic of kindergarten entry assessment because there are such great differences in the purpose for the instruments, how they are constructed, and how the data is used. Even so, in many states and communities, there is cause for concern. Until the paradigm of education moves from a preoccupation with…

Parental questionnaires are inexpensive alternatives to standardized testing for outcome measurement. The Parent Report of Children's Abilities has previously been revised (PARCA-R) and validated for use with very-preterm infants at 2 years of age. This study revalidated the PARCA-R for assessing cognition in a larger and more inclusive sample of…

Investigated convergent validity of individual Piaget/Inhelder clinical task interviews with Reasoning Test (Ankney and Joyce), Logical Reasoning Test (Burney), and Classroom Test of Formal Operations (Lawson). Indicates that correlations obtained are not sufficiently strong to warrant selection/categorization of individual students based on their…

Eighty unimpaired adults took the iconic-symbolic (I-S) subtest of the Muma Assessment Program under traditional protocols and revised instructions like those used in classic studies of classification ability. Only 18 functioned at the symbolic level as defined by the protocols; revised instructions more frequently evoked the expected symbolic…

This study compared the validity of chronological age, a standardized algebra prognosis test, standardized verbal and quantitative scales derived from an achievement test battery, and an objective measure of formal or concrete stages of Piagetian cognitive development for predicting final examination scores and course grades in high school…

In a pilot study of children's drawings of "a house with a tree behind it," Piagetian sequence (scribbling, fortuitous realism, failed realism, intellectual realism, and visual realism) was tentatively supported. Children's strategies in decentering from intellectual to visual realism were noted. The study reported in this paper was…

Researchers have attempted to develop paper and pencil Piagetian tests that yield results equivalent to manipulative Piagetian tasks and that can be administered in significantly less time. This study is an attempt to partially replicate and extend the findings of research by Paul Ankeny and Lyle Joyce who found significant positive correlations…

A paper-and-pencil test of seven of Inhelder and Piaget's formal operational schemes was developed. Multitrait-multimethod cross-validation procedures indicated that the objective test is a valid and reliable measure. It has the advantage of use in a large group setting without the need for trained clinical interviewers. (Author/PN)

Investigated development of working memory in the transitional period from infancy to preschool years. The age-related increase in scores on the Imitation Sorting Task (IST) appeared to be about one unit every six months. Results suggest that the IST has a good construct validity. (AA)

A project to evaluate Furth's Inventory of Piaget's Developmental Tasks is described, particularly as that test might be useful in adapting instruction and curricula to the cognitive level of science students. This multiple-choice paper-pencil inventory has 72 items in five problem areas: conservation, images, relations, classification, and laws.…

Reports on the development of a paper-pencil instrument which consists of five concrete experiences related to environmental concepts. Results indicate an acceptable level of validity. Results also show that the reasoning level of adolescents was well below the theoretical levels predicted for them by theory. (Author/JN)

Evaluated is the Longeot test, a paper and pencil test designed to measure various aspects of formal and concrete operational thought. Information from over 500 subjects (ages 17 to 20) indicated the test to be reliable and classifications from it correlated with classifications mode using Piagetian tasks. (DS)

Evaluation of the Kent Scoring Adaptation, which determines developmental ages in several domains based on an infant's performance on the Bayley Scales of Infant Development, with 27 at-risk infants supported the concurrent validity of the cognitive, language, and, to a degree, social domains of the Kent procedure but not the fine and gross motor…

Reviews bases for contemporary discontinuity theories of mental development, presents findings that support alternative proposition of continuity and scrutinizes assessment methods from which these continuity results derive. Also offers several models that help explain the continuity findings, and argues that individual differences in mental…

Determined the degree to which classification of students (N=512) as formal or concrete based on three Inhelder tasks administered by clinical interview method was mirrored by Longeot and Karplus-Lawson-Renner (KLR) classifications. Results indicate that Longeot and KLR differentiate between concrete/formal operations and are discussed from…