Six issues relating to assessment of gifted/learning disabled (GLD) students are discussed: (1) incidence; (2) cut-off IQ scores; (3) barriers to identification; (4) use of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children--Revised; (5) differentiation between GLD and underachieving gifted; (6) qualitative differences between GLD, gifted, and learning…

Though the most widely used "Intelligence" tests have changed little in the last half century, the author predicts a variety of new influences of future intelligence testing, ranging from the ways we conceptualize intelligence, to the manner in which we pose problems to assess it. (Author/JAZ)

The article describes the background of Larry P. v. Riles, a class action law suit involving disproportionate placement of minorities in classes for the educable mentally retarded in California, and outlines the specific findings and remedies underlying issues, including stigmatization of being classified retarded and the nature/nurture debate.…

An instrument developed for selecting students for gifted programs on the basis of performance and behavior opens up opportunities for interested students to demonstrate their capacity without any taint of elitism. (MLF)

All children have intelligence in varying degrees in various abilities; Structure of Intellect (SOI) Institute tests diagnose those abilities successfully in gifted, deaf, retarded, aphasic and all ethnic groups. With a database of thousands of student test responses, materials are developed to prepare children for the future. (NEC)

The article details the progress of ideas and research in the life of psychologist and educator, Leta Hollingworth (1886-1939). Hollingworth investigated questions of woman's place in the world of achievement, the testing of intelligence, mental retardation, and eventually, education of the gifted. (Author/DB)

Discusses the effects of schooling on the development of intelligence in children and how the amount of schooling should be considered when developing norms for turning intelligence test performance into IQ scores. Suggests that because of differences in schooling among same-age children, use of age-based norms results in biased deviation IQS.…

Disadvantages of traditional intelligence tests with handicapped children are discussed, and an alternative approach, The "Assessment of Basic Competencies" (ABC) is presented. The background and design of the ABC and the three domains of the model (language skills, math reasoning skills, and information processing skills) are…

Today's tests of intelligence are largely unchanged over the past 70 to 80 years, despite substantial changes in the way intelligence is conceptualized. The history of intelligence testing reveals that much more has been done to perfect the measurement of traits that are static and immutable than has been done to make or keep intelligence tests…

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)

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)

Reports on a study designed to measure the various learning abilities of nine-year-old German children as observed during one year of English instruction. Describes a battery of special tests administered to the students during the experimental year and discusses results obtained through correlation analyses. (MES)

Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligence construct is considered from the perspective of its viability in gifted education, especially in comparison with the more traditional Intelligence Quotient-based construct of intelligence. Empirical and theoretical support and contradictory findings are discussed from the literature in cognitive science and…

The Flynn effect, documented by a New Zealand political scientist, refers to the fact that average IQ scores have been increasing over time, reflecting the effects of environmental factors. Implications for the measurement of the intelligence of African American children and their educations are discussed. (SLD)

Research suggests that children living in poverty show progressively lower test scores as they age. The Abecedarian research project contrasted a birth-to-age-five intervention program with a school-grade intervention program. When given IQ and achievement tests at various ages, children who had received preschool treatment consistently outscored…