A review of how second-language acquisition research accounts for individual differences focuses on research on aptitude, motivation, learning strategies, and learning styles and discusses such conceptual and methodological issues as data quantification, points of contact between variables, the multicausal nature of language learning, hypothesis…

This article examines the nature of musical ability and ways in which it can be identified, including several tests currently in use. It then considers the problem of making suitable provision for musically gifted pupils at the primary and secondary levels. A list of recommended readings is included. (Author/PB)

The paper presents an analysis of aptitude-treatment interaction (ATI) as it relates to individual differences in special education. Stressed is the importance of heterogeneity of participants and interventions, of psychological interactions, and the need for applying multivariate and transactional approaches to ATI concepts. (DB)

Completion of the Group Embedded Figures Test by 237 secondary marketing education students determined that most students, particularly females, had only low to moderate restructuring skills, needed for complex cognitive tasks; and most had career goals congruent with their attitudes and social skills but not their cognitive aptitude for…

Argues for national consciousness raising about the need for holding high expectations for all students, expecting virtually all of them to succeed. Recommends the removal of false notions about which groups possess the aptitude for technical subjects. Contains 16 references. (DDR)

Two studies pursued theory that knowledge of addition combinations facilitates learning of subtraction combinations. Study 1 involved 25 kindergartners and 15 first graders in a gifted program; study 2 involved 21 first graders in a regular program. Participants responded to two pairs of problems. Findings revealed that the complementary…

Suggests building U.S. schools around the assumption that effort actually creates ability and outlines the effective features of a system based on this premise: (1) clear expectations; (2) fair evaluation; (3) payoffs for success; (4) the time needed to meet learning expectations; and (5) expert instruction. (SLD)

Commentary discusses concepts of "robustness" as the focal point in evaluating controversies surrounding "The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in America," particularly as it applies to relationships between IQ variation and school achievement. Emphasis is placed on distinguishing between concepts of reasonableness versus robustness in…

This book documents the research, development, and implementation efforts that allowed the U.S. Department of Defense to initiate the Computerized Adaptive Testing Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery Program for enlistment testing. Traces the history of this program over 30 years. (SLD)

Using a sample of 160 students from New Hampshire's Brewster Academy, a study investigated possible improvements in student performance on the Scholastic Aptitude Test that covaried with participation in the School Design Model. Results were positive, indicating that a research-driven improvement process can enhance independent school performance.…

Discusses inconclusive results in educational research about how mediated instruction affects the learner. Topics include the influence of microcomputers; flaws in comparative studies that concentrated on the physical attributes of the medium rather than instructional design issues; aptitude treatment interaction analysis; and media attributes and…

Discussion of the effectiveness of mediated education in distance education focuses on the effectiveness of educational television. Topics include mass media research; greater preparation by teachers using television that led to its effectiveness; research needs; attitudes of students and teachers; and aptitude treatment interaction analysis. (LRW)

Several problematic issues in second-language teaching and testing are discussed, including artificial distinctions made between the four language skills (listening, speaking, reading, writing) and appropriate usage in each, the relationship of language skills and language ability, and the distinction between language usage and language use. (MSE)

This article offers a model that distinguishes between natural abilities (or aptitudes) and systematically developed skills (talents). Aptitudes are seen as the constituent elements of talents, which are developed by such constructs as motivation, temperament, and significant persons. The model is then applied to the appropriate use of labels for…

A study involving 22 Australian Aboriginal students, age about 11 years, and 12 controls found that a thinking skills program, the Cognitive Research Trust Program, can enhance their creative thinking in mainstream classrooms, but did not improve scholastic aptitude, academic achievement, thinking approaches, self-concept as a thinker, or locus of…