The assessment of mental ability in Chicago Public Schools has been changed. The changes are because of the disproportionate number of Black children who were assigned to mentally handicapped classes. Placement decisions are now made by multidisciplinary panels which consider the total child not just the outcomes of prior learning. (VM)

Use of conventional standardized intelligence tests to identify gifted students presents problems with students from diverse cultural backgrounds. Assessment of learning ability (in particular the method of "test, teach, and test") may be a better method for identifying gifted students. Tests being used in Israel and Great Britain are…

Examined cognitive and personality patterns of 84 court-referred adolescents to identify predictors of recurrent delinquent behavior. It was found that continued behavioral problems at follow-up were more likely in adolescents with discrepancies between Verbal and Performance intelligence quotient or large differences between "neurotic" and…

Four points are made in regard to the controversial reaction times studies: (1) apparatus used is not the best; (2) practice effects have not been thoroughly accounted for; (3) there is some evidence that simple reactions are different from choice ones; and (4) basic data to be explained are those which show substantial group differences.…

Tracing the development of the Otis test series, the author argues that there will be a continuing demand for group-administered general mental ability tests in education. He foresees a need for better ways of relating ability test scores with skills and achievements to make them more educationally useful. (Author/JAZ)

Addresses the consumer's need for more information by describing a framework for integrating test data when it applies to minority children and their families. The progression to nonbiased assessment includes legal decisions and guidelines, further training and education for professionals who test, and greater awareness of issues for all consumers…

Criticizes the Detroit Tests of Learning Aptitude 2 (DLTA-2): (1) scoring criteria for the Story Construction Test are questionable; (2) the Word Fragment Test may not be practically significant; (3) the Picture Book is inconvenient to use without an index or table of contents. One major strength is the provision for combining subtest scores. (SRT)

The predictive relationship between the WISC-R and the PIAT and WRAT scores of 125 Mexican-Americans and 125 non-minority students (K-8) was analyzed using four methods. Conventional methods were found to be insensitive to and inappropriate for the detection of predictive bias. An alternative means of detecting predictive bias is proposed.…

The need for an ecological approach to cognitive assessment of preschool-aged children is discussed. Purposes of and popular approaches for cognitive assessment are presented. Tests and techniques are reviewed, and implications for the practice of psychology in the schools are discussed. (Author/LMO)

Standardized intelligence quotient tests should be supplemented and/or replaced by new tests that (1) emphasize the consequentiality of test material and speed selection rather than speed, (2) minimize demands on prior knowledge and test anxiety, and (3) measure intelligence according to three general classes: problem-solving ability, verbal…

The study investigated the subtest scatter of 555 nonreferred elementary students of three ethnic backgrounds--Black, White, and Hispanic. The magnitude of the subtest scatter was similiar to A. Kaufman's analysis of the standardization data. The inclusion of the Hispanic group, however, produced a somewhat different pattern. (Author/CL)

WPPS (Weschsler Preschool Primary Scale of Intelligence) and screening test scores of 72 children at risk for learning disability at age five were examined three years later. At follow-up there were 32 poor and 40 good readers. Both groups had average intelligence at age five and had received similar special help. (Author/CL)

Explored the relationship between age and intelligence test performance across race and evaluated the developmental progression of scores and construct validity of the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children in a sample totaling 2,615 children. No significant race or sex differences were found, supporting the validity of the K-ABC. (JAC)

Evaluated the effectiveness of the MASTERY model in teaching skills to graduate students (N=31) in the administration of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R). Results demonstrated that the MASTERY algorithm can be utilized as an effective means of assessing and training clinicians to pre-established competency standards of WAIS-R…

This article disputes psychological test results from the 1920s that indicated low performance by Blacks. Inaccurate experimental research procedures and conclusions of tests are observed. Cultural determinants, heredity, and influence of test instruments on data are examined. (DF)