The literature on the measurement of working memory is discussed, with emphasis on the validity of such measurement with elementary school students. Approaches by J. Pascual-Leone, R. Case, A. D. Baddeley, and C. Hulme are considered. An experimental study is presented, in which 100 boys and 91 girls (aged from 6 years to 10 years 11 months) were…

The stability of intelligence test scores over time was examined for the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R). Subjects included 64 children aged 6-16, who had been administered the WISC-R during prior evaluations. These students had been referred because of academic difficulties. One-third of the sample had taken the test…

This study investigates whether item characteristic curves are the same for black students as for white students in the United States. The data analyzed were the answer sheets of 2269 black students and 2285 white students taking the 85-item Verbal Section of the College Board's Scholastic Aptitude Test. The study of item characteristic curves is…

In addition to scores on the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT), which are required of applicants to a substantial number of graduate management schools, foreign candidates may also be required to submit scores on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) as an indication of English language proficiency. The present study provides…

This study was designed to compare the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) and Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) IQ scores (Full Scale, Verbal, and Performance) of 120 16-year-olds, controlling for both practice or order effects and for intellectual level. Each test was administered to each subject, with an average interest…

This paper describes and evaluates a new abstract form of the Purdue Elementary Problem-Solving Inventory. The new test parallels a shortened form of the original Inventory, but presents problems verbally rather than through slides. Both forms were given to advantaged and disadvantaged second- and fourth-graders. For the total sample, the slide…

In a previous Semantic Differential study, Ayrer and Farber (1972) reported the results of a factor analysis which utilized a matrix sampling approach. Some problems were encountered (negative eigen-values). The current study did not involve matrix sampling, but the same basic results were obtained. This suggests matrix sampling may be an…

A factor analysis was used to study the relationships among response time and accuracy scores for a verbal analogies test, as well as a number of experimental variables designed to measure a series of information processing stages of the analogies task. (CTM)

The verbal analogy item as a measure of intelligence is investigated. Using latent partition analysis, this study attempts to identify a semantic structure of relationships that individuals use to comprehend completed analogies. The implications for test construction and test validity are discussed. (Author/JKS)

Partial knowledge was assessed in a multiple choice vocabulary test. Test reliability and concurrent validity were compared using Rasch-based dichotomous and polychotomous scoring models. Results supported the polychtomous scoring model, and moderately supported J. O'Connor's theory of vocabulary acquisition. (Author/GDC)

Processing of verbal analogies was evaluated by recording eye fixation patterns during solution of problems that represented a broad range of difficulty. Findings on easier problems replicated previous work. On difficult items, high verbal ability individuals adapted processing strategies to a greater extent then did low ability students.…

Girls get higher average grades than boys in both high school and college, but their Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores average 57 points lower. What this means in terms of college admissions, why it occurs, and what can be done are discussed. (MT)

Two aspects of verbal ability are required for performance of verbal tasks: verbal comprehension (given the most attention); and verbal fluency (slighted by researchers). An information processing approach to how words are generated was used in two studies of 104 third and 61 sixth graders to clarify the relationships between verbal fluency and…

Investigates cerebral asymmetries to study the perception of visually presented emotional and verbal material. Grade 1/2, Grade 4/5, and Grade 8 children reported on emotional facial expressions and on letters shown laterally and tachistoscopically. Findings indicate right hemisphere dominance for mediating visual emotional information from as…

Adult performance on verbal analogy and classification problems was assessed in terms of outcomes of process execution. Process-outcomes measures accounted for overall performance and were related to ability. Problem forms differed in terms of which measures predicted individual differences. Common process-outcome measures showed highest…