The effectiveness of test adaptation based on item selection and reordering of a Spanish (Mexican) version of the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT) was examined. Translated forms were administered to a sample of Mexican students. One item from each pair (A and B) was selected and reordered using a priori rules. The revised instrument was…

Effects of heterogeneous and homogeneous grouping on the psychological functioning of Mexican American preschool children from economically disadvantaged families were investigated in a pilot project at San Jose State College Child Laboratory. Three experimental groups were composed of (1) 9 Mexican American children from low-income families and 9…

An investigation was designed to ascertain the effects of cultural background on selected intelligence tests and to identify instruments which validly measure intellectual ability with a minimum of cultural bias. A battery of tests, selected for factor analytic study, was administered and replicated at four grade levels to a sample of Metis and…

Communication is urged between theorists of human development and practitioners in early childhood education. Major psychological theories on maturation, child development, child behavior, personality formation, and affective and intellectual development are summarized and their effects on nursery school practices from the 1920's to the present…

This study examined the effects of teacher expectancy on changes in intelligence, known as the phenomenon of the self-fulfilling prophecy. Differences in sex, socioeconomic status, and teacher opinion about standardized tests were control factors. The teachers completed a questionnaire that provided the basis for classifying teachers into high,…

This brief overview of some aspects of human development aims to enable paraprofessionals (teachers' aides) to work with teachers and children with greater understanding and effectiveness. Aspects discussed include heredity, IQ scores and learning ability assessment, principles of development, and principles of learning. (ED)

Nine studies are summarized which investigated the relation between attributes of performance as perceived by the subject and corresponding objective measurements. The attributes studied were: (1) intellectual activity perceived to be involved when dealing with a task (Studies 1 and 2), and (2) perceived difficulty (Studies 4 to 9). Study 3…

The Learning Booth, an educational product developed and tested by the Far West Laboratory, was designed to offer a young child (at kindergarten or first-grade level) an experience which enables the child to learn to solve problems and find answers independently. Other training materials enable users to set up and operate a learning booth for…

The investigation examined the "Wide Range Achievement Test" (WRAT) and its subtests (spelling, reading, and arithmetic), as well as possible differences attributable to the factors of sex, with the "Chicago Non-Verbal" (CNV) as a criterion variable. The 1970 study encompassed 72 Indian students (with a mean chronological age…

Certain concepts that are sometimes confused in discussions on testing socially disadvantaged children are clarified and a history of testing, beginning with Binet, is presented. Finally, five problems in using tests to evaluate educational programs for the disadvantaged are considered. (AG)

The purpose of this study was to attempt to determine if score gains obtained upon repeated testing with an intelligence test result from a practice effect, from students remembering specific items, or from a combination of both. The verbal and nonverbal batteries of an I.Q. test were administered to 860 sixth graders on three occasions with…

The long-term stability of verbal and nonverbal IQ scores was studied for 146 Spanish-surname students. About 30-50% of Spanish students do no speak English when they begin school. The California Test of Mental Maturity or the Lorge-Thorndike Intelligence Tests were administered in grades 1,2,4,7,9, and 11. The stability of IQ scores for…

Three third-grade, three sixth-grade, and three adult female examiners tested 108 kindergarten and third-grade girls, half of whom were familiar to them, on three individually administered measures. No differences in performance on any measure as a function of familiarity were found at either grade level. No differences by examiners of different…

Psychological testing has recently fallen into disrepute because psychoanalysts have perpetuated a fraudulent theory of personality and because psychometrists have become overly concerned with psychometric esthetics to the neglect of validity. The theory subscribed to by psychoanalysts holds behavior as relatively independent of the situation the…

The results and proceedings of the first annual Bilingual/Bicultural Testing and Assessment Workshop, held in Berkeley, California, on January 27-28, 1972, are presented in this publication. Approximately 150 bilingual psychologists and evaluators, educators working in bilingual/bicultural programs, and community representatives from California…