From the monthly Saturday Review supplement, "Education in America, sponsored by the Charles F. Kettering Foundation.

The author traces the gifted education movement in the United States from the beginnings in the early 1900s of the intelligence testing movement. Societal conceptions about the ignorance of the masses fed the movement. The emergence of gifted child theory is traced to Lewis Terman and Leta Hollingworth. Terman's association of mental ability with…

The thesis that intelligence is based on heredity was dramatically revived in 1969 by an article in the "Harvard Educational Review" by Arthur Jensen, a psychologist at the University of California at Berkeley. The article, which received wide attention, was sharply criticized by those who hold that it is environment rather than genes which puts…

Intelligence tests should be used to help persons; they should not be used to penalize persons. Furthermore, our focus should be on treatment; it should not be on labeling. IQ testers often stigmatize young children and poor persons (children, adolescents, adults). Large groups of Black Americans, Spanish Americans, and Indian Americans are…

This study investigated the relationship between measures of speed of cognitive information processing and intelligence test scores. Cognitive processing measures were significantly related to IQ scores. Reaction time tests measure cognitive operations basic to intelligence, and individual differences in intelligence are partly due to variability…

Discusses the most widely used individual intelligence tests: Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) and Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale (Form L-M). Covers what the tests measure; psychometric or technical properties of the tests; and how test results are used. (JOW)

Data from 143 children with reading disabilities (RD), 100 with arithmetic disabilities (AD), and 121 controls (ages 6-16) found the RD and AD groups had significantly lower scores on all verbal IQ subtests. Many also showed significant differences between verbal and performance IQ scores, but so did many controls. (Contains references.)…

This article responds to a critique of a study in which an ambitious program of thinking skills instruction was designed, implemented, and evaluated. Concepts of intelligence and thinking skills are explored, the relationship between the two is analyzed, and the impact of instruction on both is considered. (IAH)

Genetic influence was estimated on Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children subtests from inbreeding depression scores calculated on cousin marriages in Japan (n=1,854 children) and correlated with American Black-White racial differences. The genetic contribution of racial differences in cognitive performance may be more robust than was previously…

Examines national data sets of cognitive scores for intellectual dysgenesis by considering race, socioeconomic status, and ability-related changes in test scores over time. The analysis did not support the dysgenic hypothesis; however, it indicates a convergence of the various segments of U.S. society. (MMU)

Researchers have typically found a mean difference of about 15 points between Blacks and Whites on traditional measures of intelligence. Some have argued that the difference between Blacks and Whites would be smaller on measures of cognitive processing. This study examined Black (n = 298) and White (n = 1,691) children on Planning, Attention,…

This meta-analysis of 69 studies (1,483 effect sizes) used random effects models to examine maternal employment during infancy/early childhood in relation to 2 major domains of child functioning: achievement and behavior problems. Analyses of studies that spanned 5 decades indicated that, with a few exceptions, early employment was not…

Early language development sets the stage for a lifetime of competence in language and literacy. However, the neural mechanisms associated with the relative advantages of early communication success, or the disadvantages of having delayed language development, are not well explored. In this study, 174 elementary school-age children whose parents…

Objective: Examine clinical correlates and distinguishing features of autism spectrum disorders (ASD), ADHD, and tic disorders in girls referred for social impairment, attention/academic deficits, and/or tics. Method: One hundred 3- to 18-year-old girls referred for social impairment and attention symptoms were assessed in detail. Sixty of these…

This article demonstrates how the use of creative movement and dance offers effective instructional strategies to meet the diverse learning needs of students in an inclusive classroom. Every day in one multi-age, fully inclusive classroom, students are meaningfully engaged in learning through movement--they move to learn science, social studies,…