School means of 59 cognitive variables were analyzed along with mean socioeconomic status and 19 high school variables. When the intercorrelations of school means were factor analyzed, it was clear that the social selection of students for schools operates almost entirely on the general factor in human intelligence. (Author/CTM)

Describes two studies conducted with selected groups of elementary and secondary science teachers, which established levels of cognitive functioning, cognitive style, nonverbal intelligence, verbal ability and abstract reasoning. Constructs models of the relationship between variables from intercorrelations and partial correlations among tests.…

Relationships among Piagetian reasoning assessments and standard measures of intelligence and achievement were determined in 1972 by Stephens, McLaughlin, Miller, and Glass (EJ 055 112). The data were reanalyzed by Humphreys and Parsons in 1979 (EJ 218 642). In reply, Glass and Stephens note fallacies in Humphreys' and Parsons' reasoning.…

This study examined whether a relationship existed between field-dependence-independence and scientific attitudes of sixth-grade students in SCIS. Findings indicated that such a relationship was not statistically significant. (Author/DS)

Describes a systematic investigation of the understanding of velocity by students in introductory physics courses. Data were obtained using the individual demonstration interview, similar to the clinical interview. Results are reported for success of different populations in comparing velocities for two simultaneous motions. Implications for…

The author describes activities he uses with secondary school science students to learn about their reasoning. (Author/SA)

The battery of perceptual and perceptual-motor tests (including one fine and two gross perceptual-motor tasks, and one visual and two auditory perceptual tasks) were useful for prediction of cognitive performance one year later at kindergarten age. However, cognitive achievement in first grade, and even more so in second grade, was best predicted…

The relevance of verbal reports of thinking for validating multiple-choice critical thinking tests was examined. Results from 342 senior high school students in Newfoundland (Canada) indicate that verbal reports can meet a necessary condition of validation data and collecting data does not alter thinking and performance. (SLD)

Investigated were the relation between functional M-capacity and student performance in solving chemistry problems of increasing M-demand. Student performance decreased as the M-demand of the problems increased. (Author/YP)

It is proposed that criteria for evaluating the quality of performance should be defined, at least tentatively, during the initial design of a performance assessment. Six characteristics of sound criteria are (1) significance; (2) fidelity; (3) generalizability; (4) developmental appropriateness; (5) accessibility; and (6) utility. (SLD)

Reliability and validity of a new measure of cognitive speed, the Speed of Thinking Test (SST), were investigated with 129 college students, who also completed a vocabulary test, a test of reading speed, and a test of reading comprehension. The SST appears to be a reliable and valid measure. (SLD)

The general-information-theoretic approach was used to identify informational overlap and asymmetry between variables, using affective, cognitive, and behavioral measures. Using the chi-squared test, no significant differences were found in response rates, demographics, or patronage frequency of three stores between numerical (n=453) and graphic…

This study investigated the effects of prompting, or directing/controlling attention, during a reasoning task on the performance of 68 children with attention deficit disorders, learning disabilities, or no handicaps, in grades 1-12. All groups benefited from prompting, and prompting was related to a different set of cognitive processes in each…

Because eligibility for speech-language services often is based on the relationship between the child's cognitive ability and language performance, this study examined the agreement of measurement practices used in the cognitive referencing model of eligibility determination. Administration of 5 measures to 26 preschool children with delayed…

Two cause indicator models were formulated to link items of the Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment--Short Form to the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test--Revised. These models were tested with data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (506 and 345 children), and a final model was developed. (SLD)