Heather Fearn was intrigued by the factors that might have led her higher-performing students to talk in historically mature ways about unseen sources without any prior knowledge of the topic in hand. She began to wonder if what she was hearing was not best accounted for by a content-free disciplinary aptitude, but rather that it might be the…

Examinees who take high-stakes assessments are usually given an opportunity to repeat the test if they are unsuccessful on their initial attempt. To prevent examinees from obtaining unfair score increases by memorizing the content of specific test items, testing agencies usually assign a different test form to repeat examinees. The use of multiple…

Results of profile analysis via multidimensional scaling (PAMS), a technique for studying the most prominent profiles in a battery of measures, are reported for the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale--Revised (WAIS) and the General Aptitude Test Battery (GATB). PAMS profiles and the methodological features of the PAMS approach are discussed. (SLD)

Reviews 12 studies to determine whether coaching improves student performance on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). While results are mixed, evidence suggests that coaching does not appreciably improve students' verbal or math scores. Factors such as test reliability and weighting SAT scores with high school records should be considered. Includes…

Discusses aptitude tests that volunteers take to match their skills, interests, and aptitudes with skills needed in specific military occupations. Describes the ASVAB (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery) and what happens to ASVAB results. (CT)

Rebuts articles asserting that the steep decline in school test scores has been stopped. (IRT)

Defends the National Association of Secondary School Principals volume "Guidelines for Improving SAT Scores" against criticism offered in the immediately preceding article. (IRT)

Earnest Sternglass discusses the evidence he has discovered relating declining scores on the Scholastic Aptitude Test to atmospheric radiation in the 1950s. (IRT)

Because the skills tested on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) are higher order skills than those of basic literacy, teaching basic literacy will not necessarily improve SAT scores. The National Assessment of Educational Progress, which does test literacy, indicates that students do possess basic literacy skills. (IRT) Aspect of National…

Examines the research methods used in creating the National Association of Secondary School Principals volume "Guidelines for Improving SAT Scores." (IRT)

This synthesis of findings from 40 studies showed that students can raise their test scores by taking practice tests. The size of the gains were a function of three factors: identical vs. parallel forms of the test, number of practice tests, and ability level of the student. (Author/BW)

Asserts that the expected consequences of ability test results can constrain performance. Predicts that status processes, including status differences and differences in resulting rewards and costs, will produce differences in ability test scores between high-status and low-status individuals. Finds expected performance differences between test…

Students (N=22,923) who took the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General Test were classified by the four general undergraduate fields of study and by gender. Analyses were performed of the impact of gender and field of study on GRE scores after controlling for SAT scores. (TJH)

Swedish Scholastic Aptitude Test results from Spring 1984 through Fall 1986 were analyzed for 14,768 males and 16,574 females with regard to gender differences at the item level. For four of the six subtests, differences were related to item subject content; this was untrue for the two quantitative subtests. (SLD)

Discusses the administration of the Test di Attitudine Linguistica per Bambini (TALB) to students 7-9 years of age. Correlations between the TALB and achievement tests administered at the end of the course were very high. It is concluded that aptitude is a main factor in successful learning of a second language. (16 references) (LET)