Intelligence has been defined and studied under a number of different rubrics. Three individuals serve as a representative sample of the educational and psychological researchers associated with cognitive psychology who have made significant contributions to current understandings of intelligence. Robert Sternberg's theory contains subcategories…

A review of the basic information on intelligence testing as a schooling practice is presented, including a discussion of what intelligence is and three psychological approaches to studying intelligence (psychometric, behavioristic, and developmental). All intelligence tests derived from the psychometric approach are standardized and…

This digest discusses the origins of Howard Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences, his definition of intelligence, the incorporation of the theory into the classroom, and its role in alternative assessment practices. Gardner defines intelligence as the "capacity to solve problems or to fashion products that are valued in one or more…

With few exceptions, the development of adult intelligence assessment instruments has proceeded along the lines of the Binet-Simon tests for children, stressing psychological assessment over the evaluation of what an individual knows. These tests, developed over 90 years ago, were quite effective in predicting school success, but were much less…

In educational research and evaluation, a sample of subjects usually received some type of programmatic treatment. Outcome scores for these students are then compared with outcome scores of a control or comparison group. M. Lewis and H. McGurk (1972) have pointed out that there are some implicit assumptions when this approach is applied to…

A brief overview of gifted and talented students touches on definitions of giftedness, typical characteristics of gifted and talented students, incidence in the school population, and educational alternatives. Lists of references for further reading, as well as organizational resources, are included. (JW)

This digest was adapted from D.W. Russell, D.G. Hayes and L.B. Dockery's book, "My Child is Gifted! Now What Do I Do?". The digest is intended to give parents of gifted students an overview of characteristics of gifted children and terminology used in this field. Several definitions of giftedness are offered including one from a parent…

A review of Piaget's theory and research on children's cognitive development is presented, including a discussion of the psychological structures of intelligence, developmental constructivism, and the evolution of knowledge as a subject-object relation. Piaget's assessment techniques are summarized, including moral development, number…

Commissioned papers to help the National Commission on Excellence in Education make the recommendations for educational improvement for its report "A Nation at Risk" are cited in this annotated listing. The report presents recommendations in five areas: content, standards and expectations, time, teaching, and leadership and fiscal…