The study focuses on assessing the proficiency levels of higher education students, specifically the physics achievement test (PHY 101) at the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN). This test, like others, evaluates various aspects of knowledge and skills simultaneously. However, relying on traditional models for such tests can result in…

This study examined physiological and coping responses to peer-evaluative challenges in early adolescence as predictors of academic outcomes. The sample included 123 young adolescents (X-bar[subscript age]) = 12.03 years) who participated in the summer before (T1) and the spring after (T2) the transition to middle school. At T1, respiratory sinus…

Children's (N = 275) use of retrieval, decomposition (e.g., 7 = 4+3 and thus 6+7 = 6+4+3), and counting to solve additional problems was longitudinally assessed from first grade to fourth grade, and intelligence, working memory, and in-class attentive behavior was assessed in one or several grades. The goal was to assess the relation between…

Recent studies showed that kindergarten children solve addition, subtraction, doubling and halving problems using the core system for the approximate representation of numerical magnitude. In Study 1, 34 first-grade students in their first week of schooling solved approximate arithmetic problems in a number range up to 100 regarding all four basic…

The purpose of this study was to determine whether there are different growth trajectories of arithmetic strategies and whether these trajectories result in different achievement outcomes. Longitudinal data were collected on 240 students who began the study as 2nd graders. In the 1st year of the study, the 2nd-grade students were assessed on…

The role of working memory (WM) in children's growth in mathematical problem solving was examined in a longitudinal study of children (N = 127). A battery of tests was administered that assessed problem solving, achievement, WM, and cognitive processing (inhibition, speed, phonological coding) in Grade 1 children, with follow-up testing in Grades…

Children's responses to peer victimization are associated with whether the victimization continues, and its impact on adjustment. Yet little longitudinal research has examined the factors influencing children's responses to peer victimization. In a sample of 140 late elementary school children (n = 140, Mean age = 10 years, 2 months, 55% female,…

This longitudinal study investigated the academic and cognitive characteristics of persistent mathematics difficulty (MD-p) from first to fourth grade. Ninety-nine children were retrospectively categorized into one of three groups: MD-p, transient mathematics difficulty (MD-t), or typically developing. MD-p was defined as persistently low…

Examined, over 1 year, relations between information processing efficiency, working memory, and problem solving in sample of 8-, 10-, 12-, and 14-year-olds. Identified three-stratus hierarchy with individual dimensions organized in three constructs: processing efficiency, working memory, and problem solving. Found that individual dimensions were…

This paper reports on five students' explorations of structural relationships between problem situations that they worked on over several years as participants in a long-term study. In particular, we describe the case of students who recognized isomorphisms between and among two problem situations and who used particular features of the problems…

Analyzes the effect recordkeeping has when it is designed to assess children's problem-solving and thinking processes over time. (Author/RK)

Maintains that Demetriou and his colleagues' project shows how developmental scientists can assess concepts from multiple frameworks and relate them through explicit modeling and targeted research to build explanations powerfully grounded in data and theory. Presents doubts related to specific conclusions because of issues related to the design of…

The focus is on the problem-solving behaviors of primary age children on one-step verbal or story problems involving addition and subtraction. When children are given a simple word problem for which they have not learned the necessary algorithms, they are often able to derive a solution on their own. This report focuses on the child-invented…

This 2-year longitudinal study explored whether computers promote more sophisticated thinking, and examined how students' thinking changes as they become experienced computer users. The first-year study examined the thinking process of four ninth-grade Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow (ACOT) students. The second-year study continued following these…

Strategies used by 150 children as they solved addition and subtraction verbal problems were studied over a period of one-and-a-half years. Number size and presence of manipulative materials were variables manipulated in individual interviews given at three separate intervals. Two addition and four subtraction tasks were used. Processes changed…