Designed to determine whether (1) children of middle socioeconomic status (SES) learn matrix completion rules more rapidly than lower-SES children; (2) feedback influences rate of rule acquisition; (3) rule shifting influences rate of rule acquisition; (4) SES is associated with transfer of training; and (5) effectiveness of rule acquisition and…

Two teachers each taught a 2-week fractions unit to two classes of grades 4-5 students. Each teacher taught one class using direct instruction and the other using a small-group variation of direct instruction. Regression analysis on achievement showed significant aptitude-treatment interaction (ATI) and significant teacher effects. (Author/RL)

Compared aptitude, vocational, and personality measures of high school dropouts with those of a normative population. Also studied the relative contribution of selected variables to achievement. Suggests that achievement motivation, social class, and the institutional impact of the school must be examined to identify reasons for academic failure.…

Studies the effectiveness of the Miller Analogies Test and undergraduate grade point average in predicting success of military graduate students in on-base programs. Though neither seemed to be valid predictors, they should not be discarded without further study. (JAC)

Reports a study that investigated the interactions of selected learner aptitudes and two instructional treatments, the lecture method and a videotaped presentation. Learner aptitudes utilized in the study involved measures of seven cognitive factors, Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores, and the college grade point average (GPA). (Author)

Reactions of students with four achievement styles based on combinations of the Achievement via Conformance and the Achievement via Independence scales of the California Psychological Inventory to small group learning experiences are explored as a function of group composition, achievement styles, and the demands of different tasks over time.…

This article examines the potential contribution of latent trait models to the study of intelligence. Nontechnical introductions to both unidimensional and multidimensional latent trait models are given. Multidimensional latent trait models can be used to test alternative multiple component theories of test item processing. (Author/CTM)

Left-handers with an inverted handwriting posture were compared with other left-handers and with right-handers on a spatial reasoning test. Results were consistent with the hypothesis that left-inverted subjects had relatively bilateral representation of verbal and spatial functions. Bilateral representation is assumed to be inefficient.…

Results indicate a growing consciousness of the sex-bias issue on the part of most test publishers. Recommends that guidelines for editorial bias be issued for use by item writers, editors, and consultants. Where sex differences are found, separate normative information should be given. (Author)

Scholastic Aptitude Test verbal, reading comprehension, and vocabulary scores are similar to the Nelson-Denny total, reading comprehension, and vocabulary scores. Correlation coefficients developed from these comparisons, when viewed as validity coefficients, are moderately high. (Author)

With a sample of 113 undergraduate education majors using self-instructional materials, this study investigated possible interactions of aptitude and treatment between the cognitive styles of field-dependence and field-independence and (1) active-responding or passive-responding teaching strategies and (2) immediate or delayed posttest evaluation…

Ability-achievement discrepancies were analyzed using the Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery, WISC-R, and the Peabody Individual Achievement Test administered to a sample of low achievers. Reliabilities of difference scores were moderately high. Reliabilities of differences for devices normed on both the same and different populations…

In the first drill, the branching type, subjects received problems matched to their ability. In the second drill, the fixed type, subjects received problems from all difficulty levels. Performance on both the pretest and posttest indicated that the fixed drill yielded the highest gains for more difficult problems. (Author/CP)

Puts forth four hypotheses on the causes of declining Scholastic Aptitude Test scores. They are student drug use, the integration of ethnic minorities into the schools, teacher participation in collective bargaining, and humanistic education. (IRT)

Each year high school students match wits with the Scholastic Aptitude Tests. The results help determine who gets into the most selective colleges. The tests are the subject of a growing debate. This article examines possible bias and its effects. (Author/JAC)