Studied 72 children for whom the following data were available: IQ score on a conventional test (WISC or Stanford-Binet); Goodenough-Harris drawing test IQ score; and behavior description by the test administrator. Personality traits of children who performed better on either the graphic or conventional IQ test were assessed. (SJL)

Though some unexpected sex differences were discovered, the two diagnostic categories were not found to be psychometrically distinct. Further, the results of a longitudinal analysis suggested that, while IQ scores remained relatively stable over time within a subset of the original sample, achievement scores definitely declined. (Author)

The world view of Black students was external locus of control-external locus of responsibility. That of white students was internal locus of control-internal locus of responsibility. Self-reported anxiety level significantly correlated with locus of control scores only for Blacks. (Author)

Different movement difficulties were presented and Fitts' Law was confirmed, with a linear relationship between movement time and information load. Measures of capacity placed ESN boys at least five years behind age-matched normal boys. Their performance was also lower, yet their strategies on the serial task followed similar patterns. (Author/SJL)

One of two articles on academic achievement, this article discusses the performance of U.S. students on mathematics and science achievement tests compared to students in other countries. Recent data show they are performing better. This commentary examines the importance of meeting certain research conditions before drawing conclusions about…

The relationship of an expert-system-scored constrained free-response item type to multiple-choice and free-response items was studied using data for 614 students on the College Board's Advanced Placement Computer Science (APCS) Examination. Implications for testing and the APCS test are discussed. (SLD)

Best-evidence synthesis was used to review 29 research papers published in English that evaluate the effects of ability grouping on student achievement in secondary schools. Six randomized experiments, 9 matched experiments, and 14 correlational studies were reviewed. Findings do not indicate beneficial effects of ability grouping on achievement.…

Compared adolescent cigarette smoking rates determined by traditional questionnaire, random response questionnaire, and carbon monoxide test. Results from 1,160 ninth graders in 40 classrooms in 7 schools indicated that random response questionnaire elicited statistically larger proportion of smokers than did traditional questionnaire. Neither…

A public opinion survey in Ontario shows that a majority of respondents support increased spending on education; provincewide testing; open access to advanced courses and higher education; and greater involvement of parents, teachers, and students in determining educational policy. Although respondents support comparative testing, they do not…

Two experiments with approximately 377 newly enlisted Air Force personnel and 182 college students investigated the validity of a reading span test combining a knowledge verification task with a word memorization task. Results support the hypothesis that word recall reflects the amount of working memory functional in reading. (SLD)

Seventy-nine male and 89 female adolescents participated in a study concerning identification and socioemotional situations. Subjects included 22 many-sided gifted achievers, 45 one-sided gifted achievers, 27 gifted underachievers, and 74 controls. Results suggest that the general self-concept of high school students, including the gifted, is…

Compared Career Key (CK) with Career Decision Making System (CDMS) to find out how helpful students find these instruments in learning about suitable occupations and to explore extent to which they stimulate career exploration. Findings from 221 eleventh graders revealed that students gave CK positive ratings on helpfulness. Neither CDMS nor CK…

A model integrating latent trait and latent class theories in characterizing individual performance on the basis of qualitative understanding is presented. This HYBRID model is illustrated through experiments with 119 Air Force technicians taking a paper-and-pencil test and 136 Air Force technicians taking a computerized test. (SLD)

Young adolescents--12- to 13-year olds--with social-skills difficulties received (n=9) and did not receive (n=9) social-skills training (SST). Subjects were compared before and after treatment and at followup using the Social-Skills Questionnaire, Self-Report Questionnaire, and sociometric procedures. Significant improvement on two measures for…

Computer simulations were run to measure the relationship between testlet validity and factors of item pool size and testlet length for both adaptive and linearly constructed testlets. Making a testlet adaptive yields only modest increases in aggregate validity because of the peakedness of the typical proficiency distribution. (Author/SLD)