Summarizes state-of-the-art approaches for assessing visual stimulus same/different judgments in individuals with severe intellectual disabilities. Methodological investigations indicate that one can obtain reliable same/different judgments with a variety of stimuli in virtually anyone for whom a basal score on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test…

Argues that cognitive style diagnosis gives a strong and rational basis to a personalized approach to education. Discusses the relationship between information processing and learning style. Describes the National Association of Secondary School Principals'"Learning Style Profile," which assesses students' perceptual responses, cognitive…

Examines the results of 5 measures of gender acquisition in 108 children from their eighteenth month to the age of 4. Concludes that gender acquisition is multidimensional and loosely organized rather than unidimensional and tightly systematic, as is often suggested. (CJS)

Examines the availability of neuropsychological training in American Psychological Association-accredited counseling psychology programs. Only 42% of respondents reported the availability of a neuropsychology course at their universities. Results indicate an interest in neuropsychological theory but a lack of available training. (Author/GCP)

Effects of massage on preschoolers' cognitive performance were assessed. Preschoolers were given Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence-Revised subtests before and after receiving 15-minute massage or spending 15 minutes reading stories with the experimenter. Children's performance on Block Design improved following massage, and…

Observations were made of eight 2-year-olds and eight 3 1/2-year-olds to explore the use of play assessment and its efficacy in determining cognitive levels. Children's play primarily consisted of Exploratory Play, Pretend Play, and Problem Solving Skills. Results indicated that Exploratory Play becomes more complex with age and is displayed more…

A large proportion of the UK adult population has very poor literacy and/or numeracy skills (see the 1999 Moser Report, the 2003 "Skills for Life" Survey and the 2006 Leitch report). In 1999, the Moser report found that approximately 20% of adults in England had severe literacy difficulties, whilst around 40% had some numeracy problems.…

We conducted correlational and performance discrepancy analyses on exam and achievement data taken from students in three psychology courses. Across courses, the same findings emerged. First, only a small fraction of students consistently performed more strongly on one type of assessment (e.g., multiple-choice) than on another (e.g., short…

This report focuses on prospective secondary mathematics teachers' understanding of irrational numbers. Various dimensions of participants' knowledge regarding the relation between the two sets, rational and irrational, are examined. Three issues are addressed: richness and density of numbers, the fitting of rational and irrational numbers on the…

Background: Debates about the modifiability of cognitive ability have been largely resolved by reports of successful "thinking skills" interventions. However, such interventions are very diverse and generalization of effects relatively little explored. Aims: This study investigated whether a thinking skills intervention involving…

Although research has clearly established that low family income has negative impacts on children's cognitive skills and social-emotional competence, less often is a family's experience of material hardship considered. Using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-1999 (N=21,255), this study examined dual components of…

This paper describes a comprehensive model of alignment that provides a foundation for meaningful reporting of students' academic progress over time. The model includes both horizontal and vertical alignment as integral parts of the development of content standards, test blueprints, items, item pools, instruments, performance level descriptors,…

Measuring student intelligence has been problematic in the United States since standardized testing first began in the early 1900s. The omnipresence of standardized testing in student populations is illustrated by the most popular contemporary tests which are used by some scholars to advance the notion that intelligence differences between whites…

The current study examines the views of experts in the science of mental abilities about the primacy and uniqueness of "g" and the social implications of ability testing, and compares their responses to the views of a group of non-expert psychologists. Results indicate expert consensus that "g" is an important, non-trivial determinant (or at least…

Considerable discussion and debate have been devoted to the extent and nature of structural or functional correspondence between internal representations and their external visual counterparts. An analogue representation or process is one in which the relational structure of external events is preserved in the corresponding internal…