The study compares the achievement of Jewish and Arab students in the high school biology matriculation examinations in Israel with special reference to differences between boys and girls. While Jewish and Arab students follow the same syllabus and take identical matriculation examinations, significant differences exist in learning and achievement…

The following discussions and workshops were presented at a conference on assessing higher order thinking skills organized by the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory: (1) "Assessing Higher Order Thinking Skills--Issues and Practices" by S. Rankin; (2) "Writing Multiple-Choice Critical Thinking Items (part 1)" by S. P.…

Although the most desired attributes of a geographer are spatial perception and verbal ability, research reveals that each sex consistently demonstrates superiority in only one of the abilities. In the United States females score significantly higher in verbal abilities and males score significantly higher in spatial abilities. The differences are…

The complex and multi-faceted nature of the cognitive process of reasoning is discussed. The factor-analytic history of the isolation and definition of the three most important currently recognized reasoning factors (general reasoning, induction, and logical or deductive reasoning) is traced through the psychometric literature, and the…

Skill acquisition is conceptualized as a three-step process in which students sequentially know about, understand, and apply a skill. Skills are described as conceptually based actions whose performance in the classroom is dependent upon cognitive factors. Written classroom simulations are described as one effective means of measuring…

Marcia's adolescent identity status interview combines objective scoring with a clinical approach to investigate Erikson's theory in terms of the identity crisis of adolescence. Marcia's interview was extended to adult identity processes by redefining the crisis and commitment dimensions of strength (of involvement in work) and flexibility (of…

This study investigated the potential use of a cognitive measure to detect differential effects on children's styles of performance and behavior. A stratified random sample of 96 children across schools, sex and preschool attendance were selected for testing from the five kindergarten classes associated with the Mt. Druitt Early Childhood Project…

When assessing the influence of empathy on prosocial motivation, analyzing empathy alone would lead to a misunderstanding. We must also assess other elements of the situation, such as the altruist's coping skills and situational constraints. In a similar manner empathy itself should be conceptualized as a process with many elements. One way to…

Assessment of counselor trainee applicants with respect to level of cognitive complexity might prove a useful additional criterion in selection of students for training programs. To determine the correspondence between a measure of counselor effectiveness and five cognitive complexity measures, 38 subjects, master's degree students in counseling,…

Traced are the developmental stages involved with the design of the Test of Logical Thinking (TOLT), a paper and pencil test constructed by the authors to measure formal reasoning ability. The final version of TOLT is described as consisting of two items for each of five reasoning modes: (1) controlling variables, (2) probabilistic reasoning, (3)…

This paper reports a series of studies of environmental cognition. Conducted among American preschoolers, Navajo and Puerto Rican school children, and American, Mexican and Maori adults, all of the studies employ techniques of environmental modelling that permit objects such as buildings, trees and vehicles. A pilot test of the environmental…

THE EXPERIMENTS ATTEMPTED TO MEASURE ACHIEVEMENT, MOTIVATION, DELAY OF GRATIFICATION, ASPECTS OF PERCEPTION DEVELOPMENT, COGNITION, AND LANGUAGE OF CULTURALLY DEPRIVED PRESCHOOL CHILDREN. THERE WERE FOUR EXPERIMENTAL GROUPS--CHILDREN ATTENDING SUMMER SCHOOL FOR 3 YEARS AND HAVING CONTACTS WITH A HOME VISITOR IN THE FALL, WINTER, AND SPRING MONTHS,…

A SERIES OF INVESTIGATIONS WAS CONDUCTED TO COLLECT DATA ABOUT TEACHER ROLE COGNITIONS. ROLE COGNITIONS STUDIED INCLUDED TEACHER ROLE COGNITIONS HELD AND COGNITIONS ATTRIBUTED TO OTHERS. INITIALLY DATA WERE OBTAINED FROM A PILOT STUDY OF OVER 100 UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS IN AN URBAN UNIVERSITY. ADDITIONAL DATA WERE OBTAINED FROM APPROXIMATELY 700…

This study investigates (1) the relationship of two potentially valuable measures of sequential processing to each other and to a measure of digit span, and (2) the relationships among tests of sequential processing and other measures of cognitive functioning. Subjects were 188 first grade students who had been screened in kindergarten for risk of…

The high school principal's impact on classroom learning activities is examined in this research report. The study, conducted in four Houston high schools, applied the model described in "CCBC Notebook," February 1980. This report offers a portion of the overall research, providing a summary of the patterns identified. The first segment…