The Modern Language Aptitude Test (MLAT) was part of a project examining biographical, motivational, attitudinal, personality, and cognitive aptitude variables in 1,000 adult students preparing at the Foreign Service Institute for overseas assignments, with various subsamples completing different instruments. Data were analyzed using correlation,…

High schools have traditionally focused on preparing students for entry-level jobs or for postsecondary education. Recently, federal legislation (e.g., 1990 and 1998 Perkins Acts) has encouraged a more integrated approach for all students, one that maintains college entry as a viable option while also providing a stronger foundation in work skills…

Expectations of performance in a foreign language are important predictors of future achievement. Two types of bias occur in foreign language learning: self-enhancement bias, which pertains to students who are unrealistically optimistic about their ability to learn a foreign language; and self-derogation bias, which pertains to those students who…

Evaluated bias in college-bound high school juniors' self-assessments of their employment qualifications. Found their self-descriptions, compared with standard measures, showed an uneven appreciation of preparation, ability claims that were not based on aptitude, and sex stereotyping. Results question use of brief self-assessments in career…

Investigates both the reading and writing behaviors of eight good readers and writers in order to identify shared cognitive-linguistic patterns that might mark both processes, developmental differences between the age groups, and patterns of academic and nonacademic influences on the writing. (HOD)

Describes a statistical integration of findings from 74 studies of visual-based college teaching. Results indicating that students in such instruction generally learned slightly more but that there was no effect on course completion rates or student attitudes are discussed, and 19 references are provided. (Author/BK)

This study demonstrated an aptitude-strategy interaction in linear syllogistic reasoning; specifically, that the efficiency of each of four alternative strategies for solving linear syllogisms would depend on subjects' verbal and spatial abilities. The four strategies, as well as research methods in aptitude-treatment interaction, are discussed.…

The potentially gifted (those who could achieve excellence under the right conditions) as well as those who are conspicuously talented need support. Three traits to look for in gifted students are: above average general ability, task commitment, and creativity. (CJ)

Results indicated the degree to which the cognitive performance of classes and individuals was influenced by the combination of student ability and anxiety aptitudes, and teacher structuring and demand for student participation. Four aptitude-treatment interactions were found; these were consistent with prior research. (Author/CP)

Investigates the relationship between language aptitude components and second language (L2) outcomes among learners whose intensive L2 exposure began at different ages. Findings reveal that in adolescence immersion, a positive relationship occurs between L2 outcomes and an analytical dimension of language aptitude, whereas in early immersion, a…

Twelve low-achieving, high-potential junior high students were involved in a pullout program to improve their academic performance. The students were partially successful in applying strategies they learned for analyzing their potential, building self-esteem, managing time, managing stress, goal setting, and developing individual action plans.…

Provides an overview of the use of test within the Canadian Employment Services. Some of the topics covered include the place of tests in the counseling service (the general context), the level of testing services provided to clients, the training provided for employment counselors, and the involvement of the employment service in test…

Ninety-three students in a high school alternative learning center for disruptive, disaffected youth were assessed on potential giftedness and talent. Based on the Otis-Lennon School Ability Test, the IBRIC Biographical Inventory, and nominations by teachers and peers, eight students (8 percent) were identified as potentially gifted and talented.…

Gender differences in omitting items and guessing on multiple-choice tests were studied in Israel for 302 male and 302 female ninth graders and 150 male and 150 female university applicants. Females tended to omit more items and guess less often than did males. Implications for scoring are discussed. (SLD)

Although all African-American children are educable, parent involvement significantly affects their children's educational success. Dilemmas that constrain parental educational choice and involvement with children's learning create barriers to mobilization for expansion of high quality educational programs to greater segments of this population.…