Construct validity findings from Campbell-Fiske and LISREL confirmatory factor analyses of a multitrait-multimethod matrix were compared for 252 low-track and 588 high-track eleventh- and twelfth-grade students. The manner in which construct validity varies across groups is also discussed. (SLD)

The effects of varying the familiarity, representation, and number of elements in maps and diagrams were assessed, using 89 male and 89 female ninth through eleventh graders. Significant differences distinguished the low- versus high-ability students' responses. The expected effects of form and familiarity on recall performance were not found.…

Self-modeling was studied in three experiments with a total of 148 elementary school children who had experienced difficulties in arithmetic. Observing self-model videotapes raised achievement outcome as well as viewing peer models. Self-model tapes showing skill acquisition were as effective as were tapes showing mastery. (SLD)

From 1982 to 1992, Mendaki (Council on Education for Muslim Children) sought to improve the low achievement of Singapore's minority Malay children through weekend tuition classes, student financial support, and promotion of Islamic values. The government supported Mendaki in the interests of national social integration, but urged the Malay…

Student and teacher perceptions of differential teacher behavior toward good and not-so-good students were studied for 529 Dutch elementary school students. Students and teachers agreed that low-achieving students got more teacher support, but they differed in their views of amounts of praise and criticism. (SLD)

Describes a telecommunications project in Texas that used inexpensive laptop computers for word processing with classes of low-achieving tenth-grade language arts students. Highlights include parent involvement; student writing processes; telecommunication with other students via the Texas Education Network (TENET); database use; and student…

Researchers gave low ratings to 73% of fourth-graders' informative writing samples on NAEP's 1992 Writing Portfolio Study. Teachers blame changing demographics, science and math emphases, the self-esteem movement, standardized tests, and fast-paced lifestyles. Administrators must encourage student writing, support teachers, schedule more language…

This article defends research evaluating similarities and differences in psychometric performances of students with learning disabilities (LD) and students with low achievement (LA), which concluded that psychometric test performance alone was an insufficient basis for differential diagnosis. Recent criticism of the research by Kenneth Kavale and…

This article argues for the adoption of a 2-step procedure in diagnosing dyslexia: first, identify students with word list reading standard scores below 90, and then identify students with a reading score at least 10 points lower than expected from the full scale intelligence quotient. (JDD)

The effectiveness of two spelling software programs on the weekly spelling performance of underachieving elementary students was studied. Students learned the programs, and data were collected over the school year. Data analyses indicated both programs generated higher accuracy in spelling than traditional procedures. Students sustained the…

Two experiments involving 227 children aged 5 to 18 years suggest that working memory operates as a general system independent of the subject's reading skill and that dynamic testing procedures enhance predictions of reading performance. Individual differences in working memory do not appear restricted to an academic domain. (SLD)

A study of 17 bright underachievers aged 8 to 15 attributed low achievement to emotional issues, peer group pressure, lack of an appropriate curriculum, undiagnosed learning disabilities, and poor self-regulation. Teacher researchers discovered that involving these students in creative productivity reversed the cycle of underachievement. (12…

Fourteen high-intelligence and 13 low-intelligence first-year college students worked in a structured or unstructured simulation environment to learn correlational principles. Thinking-aloud protocols indicate that high-intelligence subjects exhibit a better working method than do low-intelligence subjects, and that working method is a strong…

Analysis of scholastic test information and scores on the Defining Issues Test (DIT) of moral judgment for 122 eighth graders found a wide variation in DIT scores among high cognitive ability subjects, but no high scores among low ability subjects, suggesting that high cognitive ability is necessary but not sufficient for high moral judgment. (DB)

Outlines a framework for examining children's socialization that combines microlevels and macrolevels. Applies the framework to a case study of student failure in the Solomon Islands. Concludes that children's failure had less to do with home socialization than with larger societal processes that shape schooling in the Solomons. (MM)