The purpose of the study was to develop and try out two forms of a short (40-50 item) diagnostic test in five skill areas (Library Use; Dictionary Use; Use of References; Reading Graphs and Tables; Reading Maps) for use in Grades 4, 5, and 6, and designated as research study skills. A related problem was the development of five short (31-44 item)…

Kindergarten, second-grade, fifth-grade, and college subjects were tested in a serial-position recall task under each of four conditions: Visual stimuli/visual recall cue, visual stimuli/auditory recall cue, auditory stimuli/visual recall cue, auditory stimuli/auditory recall cue. Visual stimuli were pictures of common animals and objects;…

This study attempts to determine the relative ranking value of information gathering devices that could be substituted for tests of mental maturity. Results indicate that the three best devices are: a standardized test of academic achievement, a test of personality, and a self-concept inventory, all of which are easily administered, scored, and…

Phase II was a field evaluation of a communication and learning system package of films, simulation games, discussion questions, and posters designed to promote career awareness in junior high school children. It was proposed that this evaluation serves as a prototype for the assessment of the effects of learning systems on the affective and…

Mechanical aptitude is considered to be a composite of several abilities--general intelligence, spatial, mechanical knowledge and comprehension, and relevant manual dexterity and coordination. Abilities are conceived as if organized in a hierarchical model and are assumed to develop as overlearned and generalized response patterns to particular…

Three systems for defining general cognitive abilities were analyzed to determine the nature of possible reference tests for cognitive abilities. They are the Guilford analysis of cognition, Guttman's facet design, and the Primary Mental Abilities of the Thurstones. This analysis led to a fourth schema for classifying abilities that deal with…

This paper describes test development efforts for measuring achievement of selected concepts in social studies. It includes descriptive item and test statistics for the tests developed. Twelve items were developed for each of 30 concepts. Subject specialists categorized the concepts into three major areas: Geographic Region, Man and Society, and…

This study of the negative side of children's writing utilized an experimental group and a control group equalized according to sex and the results of the language sub-tests of the Stanford Achievement Tests. Students wrote two 1,000 word composition samples, one during the first month of the study and one during the ninth month. The purposes of…

Describes a study of content area textbook use, in which three teachers' explanations of their use of textbooks differed from those derived from observations, and that this ambiguity may serve to confuse students. (HTH)

Forty second grade and 40 fifth grade elementary school children participated in a study to examine the relationship of three factors to the development of trust in children's peer relations: participation in a best friend relationship, social status, and changes in factors children consider when making judgments of trust. (RWB)

Provides four learning activities for upper elementary grade level students. The activities are designed to help students learn about the history of South Africa, learn the meaning of apartheid, understand how apartheid would affect their lives, and practice citizenship participation skills by writing either a government official or a U.S. company…

Describes a study which examined how elementary school students learning Logo through structured and unstructured teaching methods compared in time on task, discipline, and organization factors, and whether techniques other than mastery measures can be used to differentiate Logo classes taught by structured and unstructured techniques. (MBR)

Describes the results of survey of 1,100 grade 5, 8, and 11 students to determine their knowledge of and attitudes toward world affairs. Notes that age, sex, and class were the most important correlates and that children were only marginally more knowledgeable about domestic politics than international affairs. (SB)

Supports the hypotheses that (1) students of teachers trained to use explicit explanation are more aware of what they had been taught than students of teachers who are not similarly trained and (2) there is a significant positive relationship between teacher explanation and student metacognitive awareness. (PD)

Social promotion has long been the normal practice in American schools. Critics of this practice, whereby students are promoted to the next grade regardless of academic preparation, have suggested that students would benefit academically if they were made to repeat a grade. Supporters of social promotion claim that retaining students disrupts them…