This study examined problem solving and number-fact skills in two subgroups of third graders, those (n=12) with difficulties only in mathematics (MD-specific) and those (n=12) with difficulties in both reading and mathematics (MD-general). On both story and number-fact problems, the MD-general group performed worse than nonimpaired students,…

Reviews the history of the Strong Interest Inventory and the legacy of its creator, E. K. Strong Jr. Focuses on Strong's development of the inventory method and use of criterion-related scale development. Outlines trends in content-related scale developments, innovations in the inventory, and future directions for predicting career behavior. (RJM)

Education at its best is an "aptitude development program" that promotes development of learning abilities and effective personal styles needed for future learning in school and throughout life. Much of this development involves adapting and expanding the symbol systems used in teaching and learning to convey essential meanings. Adaptive…

A study compared the performance of 66 New Zealand children (ages 9-12) on a published problem-solving test and the Progressive Achievement Test (PAT). Receiver operating characteristic analysis showed that, independent of any chosen percentile, the PAT's accuracy at identifying mathematically gifted children was only 78%. (Contains references.)…

Describes an undergraduate sociology course that taught qualitative and quantitative data analysis. Focuses on two students and how they dealt with and overcame anxiety issues, subsequently achieving higher levels of learning and new learning strategies. (KDR)

The differentiation hypothesis suggests that the degree to which general intelligence ("g") pervades performance on mental tests is greater at lower ability levels. Analysis of data from Differential Aptitude Test results for over 10,500 Irish school children ages 14 to 17 years supports the differentiation hypothesis. (SLD)

Describes the philosophy and curriculum of a coeducational high school in Jordan dedicated to fulfilling the needs of gifted and talented students. The school encourages individual initiative and democratic participation and selects students based on school achievement, behavioral characteristics, mental ability, specific mathematical ability, and…

Studied relationships among short-term memory, processing speed, sequencing ability, and long-term memory information retrieval in 7-year-olds. Found that when reading ability was controlled, arithmetic ability was best predicted by processing speed, with short-term memory accounting for no further unique variance. Children with arithmetic…

Describes some of the "big ideas" of Richard E. Snow about aptitude, person-situation transaction, and test validity. Also describes the design of a high school study undertaken to explore some of Snow's ideas further and introduces the articles of this special issue. (SLD)

Evaluates the third edition of the Occupational Aptitude Survey and Interest Schedule, designed to assist students in eighth grade through postsecondary school settings in self-exploration, vocational exploration, and career development. Concludes that the OASIS-3 provides time- and cost-effective methods for assessing a number of abilities and…

The Linguistic Coding Deficit Hypothesis offers an alternative to affective explanations for second-language learning difficulties and adds another dimension to the role of aptitude. The hypothesis focuses on phonological, syntactic, and semantic components of language and assumes that the individual's control over these components is crucial to…

Discusses controversies concerning the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), in a conversation between National Endowment for the Humanities president, Lynne V. Cheney, and College Board president, Donald Stewart. The discussion centered around (1) the SAT as a predictor of college performance; (2) uses of achievement tests; and (3) education in…

Examines three instructional designs involving new interactive media: scenario-based, hypermedia, and parallel system designs. Hypotheses about their learning effects are advanced, based on findings in three areas of research: intrinsic motivation, aptitude for learning, and learner control of instruction. (14 references) (LRW)

This paper suggests the use of the term "marked aptitudes" to describe exceptional attributes of pupils. It is felt that this avoids the misleading connotations of "gifted" and focuses on the specific area that is exceptional. (Author/DB)

Navy recruits (n=243) participated in an examination of the relationship between strategy use and intelligence through paper-and-pencil and computer-administered tests that considered reaction time. Overall, results weaken arguments that strategy use is related to general intelligence and that strategy use is a robust, traitlike construct. (SLD)