This study investigates the direct and/or indirect effects of some cognitive (working memory capacity) and affective (writing anxiety and writing self-efficacy) variables on the complexity, accuracy, and fluency (CAF) of second language (L2) learners' writings. To achieve this goal, 232 upper-intermediate English learners performed an automated…

Executive function is best measured in loosely structured, multi-component tasks that reflect real-life demands. These tasks require participants to develop a strategy, keep a plan in mind and monitor time. Errors include ignoring stated goals ("goal neglect"), over-allocation of time to one task and violating rules. Teasing apart such…

A majority of studies on learning disabilities have focused on elementary grades. Although problems with learning disabilities are life-affecting only a few studies focus on deficits in adults. In this study adults with isolated mathematical disabilities (n = 101) and adults with combined mathematical and reading disabilities (n = 130) solved…

A motor task that requires fine control of upper limb movements and a cognitive task that requires executive processing--first performing them separately and then concurrently--was performed by 18 young and 18 older adults. The motor task required participants to tap alternatively on two targets, the sizes of which varied systematically. The…

During the course of investigations on such topics as the instructional styles, interaction patterns and personality characteristics of teachers, the organizational structure of schools, the technology of instruction, and the affective and cognitive growth of students, researchers have developed hundreds of psychological and educational…

Biographical inventory is a selection device used as an alternative or supplement to cognitive testing because this measurement method predicts aspects of job performance that are not predicted by cognitive measures. Some of the issues and concerns about using biographical inventories are discussed. The use of biographical inventories (biodata) is…

The aim of this investigation was to develop a justifiable and efficient procedure for locating the top two percent of the eighth grade students in an inner-city junior high school. The WISC performance IQ was chosen as the criterion measure. Four screening measures were used to select students for the WISC: an achievement test (the California…

Correlations between the Enrollee Test Battery (ETB) and performance on more conventional tests were examined to determine the ETB validity, in addition to a small-Scale study of predictive validity of both ETB and the conventional tests. Three types of paper and pencil measures were utilized: the ETB, conventional cognitive skills tests, and…

This paper reports on several generic evaluation methods used by the evaluation office of the Curriculum Research and Development Group of the University of Hawaii (EO-CRDG). Scrivens's (generic) checklist approach was taken one step further by developing generic data collection instruments to be used with any evaluation method: (1) a formative…

This study examines the gaps related to gender and race/ethnicity in entrance, persistence, and attainment of postsecondary science and engineering (S&E) education. After reviewing selected prior research and examining potentially relevant variables in two National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) surveys, several variables were selected…