Counselors must recognize that most intelligence tests measure a sample of the childs' intellectual functioning on a variety of tasks rather than innate potential. Intelligence varies depending on personality, development, and environmental influences. (Author/HLM)

Argues that meritocracy's erosion of democracy is well underway in this country. Focusing on "The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life" and "The Revolt of the Elites and the Betrayal of Democracy," the essay examines the concept of the cognitive elite, explains how the new meritocracy arose, and…

A 10-year longitudinal study investigated whether 37 children identified as academically gifted at preschool but who received no specific support would be identifiably different from their peers after 10 years of Finnish comprehensive school. The gifted group scored significantly higher than controls for final school grades and scholastic…

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)

Teacher nominations, parent nominations, and nonverbal measures of intelligence were used to identify giftedness among 178 severely/profoundly hearing-impaired students, aged 5-20. The three identification procedures appeared to be largely independent of each other. Characteristics of gifted hearing-impaired children were similar to those of…

Describes the status of controversies regarding the definition of intelligence, its measurement, and the relative roles of heredity versus environment in the development of individual differences. Intelligence tests alone are inconclusive in examining individual children. (Author/BJV)

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…

Reviews and critically analyzes the book, "The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life." The author discusses cultural bias in intelligence tests, the errors made in assessing the cognitive abilities of blacks, and the negative effects stemming from belonging to the underclass in American society. (GR)

The Rasch model was applied to selection of items for an Arabic version of the Otis-Lennon Mental Ability Test using a sample of 599 male and female Kuwaiti secondary school and university students. Results indicated that the test is suitable for the range of ability intended to be measured. (SLD)

The ability of 248 older adults to improve their performance on fluid intelligence tests, with or without tutor-guided instruction in cognitive skills, was studied using multidimensional longitudinal structural equation models. Results suggest considerable plasticity in adult intellectual function and the capacity to improve performance. (SLD)

Forty children (ages 9-12) identified as having dyslexia on the basis of intelligence and achievement tests were evaluated. Results imply that a test of phonological sensitivity and another of nonsense word decoding identified children who were dysphonetic. Nondysphonetic disabled readers were older and had higher verbal intelligence quotients…

The general intelligence factor (g) was investigated using 170 university students across three batteries of ability measures: (1) a short-term memory battery; (2) the Multidimensional Aptitude Battery; and (3) a reaction time battery. Results support the notion of g and suggest short-term memory as an essential aspect of intelligence. (SLD)

The constancy of intelligence quotients (IQs) of 161 gifted Israeli children, obtained initially in grades K-4 and retested 1-4 years later, was examined. Results indicated that 86% still qualified as gifted on the retest, with mean differences of five to eight IQ points. Performance scores tended to remain constant, whereas verbal scores tended…

Comparisons of Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised scores, for 24 children with learning disabilities demonstrating a low verbal, high performance intelligence quotient (IQ) discrepancy and 33 slow learning children having uniformly low verbal and performance IQs, revealed few cognitive differences beyond the Performance Scale…