Six current issues in the use of tests are examined in this paper. Are the tests used in education valid? In general and to a reasonably satisfactory extent they are. Is the emphasis these tests place on cognitive achievements a serious limitation? Because of the basic and pervasive role of cognition in human affairs, and in the absence of any…

The express focus of this book is primarily on black American language. However, it is asserted, a comprehensive interpretation of this language requires an understanding of its social and cultural context. This book reviews the various ways in which the black experience in the United States has been treated in social science. It points out a…

The current study is concerned with identifying racial-ethnic differences in cognitive strategies or structures that are related to performance on verbal ability tests. The study had two goals: (1) to compare the semantic equivalency of intelligence test items between racial-ethnic groups, and (2) to examine the relationships of individual…

In March of 1971, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that "if an employment practice which operates to exclude Negroes cannot be shown to be related to job performance, the practice is prohibited." Although the decided case concerned discrimination on the basis of race, the act also bars discrimination because of religion, sex,…

Approximately 1,225 Mexican American and Anglo American children in grades 1-6 (ages 6-14) from California, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas were tested using school achievement and IQ standardized tests and four Piagetian-derived measures (Cartoon Conservation Scales, Water Level Task, Figural Intersection Test, and Serial Task). The field study's…

The study sought to use Jensen's two-level theory of mental abilities to predict some hitherto unknown or unnoticed phenomena--facts about which the theory should yield clear-cut predictions and which are not as clearly predictable from other theories, though they may receive ad hoc explanations after the fact. From the two-level theory of mental…

Inner city children have suffered indiscriminately from strict, illogical scoring of standardized IQ tests which do not credit children with thoughtful responses accurately reflecting their experiences and backgrounds. As a result, IQ scores too often doom these children to learning situations for children of lower mentality levels than their own.…

This report describes the first phase of a two-part study of the processes through which social and economic disadvantagement affect the early cognitive development and educability of urban preschool Negro children. Contents include: the background, conceptual context, and research procedures; the relation of family resources and maternal life…

This study attempts to isolate variables which influence intelligence and achievement scores of disadvantaged black school children in the elementary school years. Based on a study of the mean changes in the IQ scores of third graders since they were in first grade, and of changes in the IQ and reading achievement scores of sixth graders since…

Developed to aid children with learning difficulties, from mental retardation or brain injury to maladjustment or physical or environmental handicaps, the joint school services program provides psychological evaluation and prescription development. The handbook reviews theories of child development and surveys behavior modification and…

Undertaken by Eastern Wyoming College, this pilot program of adult basic counseling and testing sought to stimulate the enrollment of school dropouts in adult basic education courses, help enrollees discover their vocational interests and capabilities, and aid them in their personal and social adjustment. A full-time counselor took charge of…

The following research projects are described in this annual report: (1) "Concept Learning in Discrimination Tasks," which indicates that kindergarten children are able to discriminate the letters "b,""d,""p," and "q"; (2) "Discrimination of Letter-like Forms," indicating that nursery…

The problem of retaining Mexican American students in institutions of higher education is reviewed in these 5 papers: "The Retention of Mexican American Students in Higher Education with Special Reference to Bicultural and Bilingual Problems" by Manuel H. Guerra; "Mexicanismo vs. Retention: Implications of Retaining Mexican American…

Intended to encompass individuals in need of special treatment, teachers, and areas of knowledge relevant to either or both groups, the text discusses the following subjects: the nature of reading; the nature of learning difficulties; the development of reading instruction in the United States; the development of instruction for children with…

The beneficial and harmful effects of acting out are studied in a series of short essays by numerous authors. Included are four articles on the theoretical and dynamic considerations of acting out, along with five clinical manifestations of acting out involving suicide and criminality in adolescents and adults. Special forms of harmful acting out…