Describes a study in which tenth-grade biology students who were low verbal performers scored significantly higher on achievement tests when provided with picture-word diagrams of biological concepts than when provided with block-word diagrams. Students and teachers also preferred picture-word diagrams as indicated by a questionnaire. (MLH)

This study of undergraduates investigated how scaffolding instructional strategies can support learners' knowledge acquisition and metacomprehension of complex systems in a computer-based training environment. Results showed that incorporating diagrams facilitated performance on measures of integrative knowledge and facilitated the development of…

A study investigated the relationship of 35 high school students' online catalog search performance and their academic achievement and verbal, quantitative, and analytical abilities as measured by standardized tests. Results indicate a moderate correlation between search performance and academic performance and cognitive abilities and a stronger…

Presented academically low-, average-, and high-achieving fifth graders with information about animals and assigned students to one of three strategy conditions: elaborative interrogation (EI), repetition, or provided elaboration. Average- and high-achieving EI group students outperformed repetition group students on a test of their memory of the…

The internal/external frame of reference (I/E) model explains a seemingly paradoxical pattern of relations between math and verbal self-concepts and corresponding measures of achievement, extends social comparison theory, and has important educational implications. In a cross-cultural study of nationally representative samples of 15-year-olds from…

Two of the most widely used academic self-efficacy assessment techniques, problem-referenced measurement and the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) were compared. Participants were 383 high school students from 4 Los Angeles (California) schools. Multi-trait multi-method analyses revealed that the two techniques were not…

Although the most desired attributes of a geographer are spatial perception and verbal ability, research reveals that each sex consistently demonstrates superiority in only one of the abilities. In the United States females score significantly higher in verbal abilities and males score significantly higher in spatial abilities. The differences are…

Two studies were conducted to assess the listening ability of 17-year-old students with particular interest in the relationship among listening ability, verbal ability, and racial/ethnic bias in the test items. The first study, a National Assessment of Educational Progress and Speech Communication Association pilot project, indicated that there…

Relationships between six home environment measures, achievement and intelligence tests were examined by stepwise multiple regression analyses for a sample of 60 eight-year old children. Home variables were most successful in predicting achievement test scores, less successful regarding culture-dependent intelligence test scores, and least…

Catholic schools have a positive effect on verbal and mathematics achievement growth from the sophomore to senior year of high school. Catholic schools produce higher-achieving students in academic programs, require more semesters of academic coursework, and assign more homework. (Author/RM)

Finds that preschool children remember lower case letters better if generally encouraged by their mothers to produce verbal responses and if their mothers have specifically taught lower case letters. Discusses three mechanisms that may explain this effect: mnemonic support for the child; membership in sociolinguistic group; and the teacher's being…

Until the 1970s, there were few signs of change in the historic difference of one standard deviation between average ability or achievement test scores of black and white students. From 1970 to the mid-to-late 1980s, there was a substantial convergence of the average achievement test scores of blacks and whites. From the mid-to-late 1980s to 1992,…

Frame-of-reference theory was applied to verbal and mathematics self-concept and achievement measures with 103 high school students, ages 13 through 15, who were academically able. Path analysis verified the influence of both internal ability comparisons across academic areas and external ability comparisons relative to peers in determining…

The effect of verbal and numerical reasoning and effort level on achievement of students in an undergraduate Test and Measurement course was investigated. Course achievement was measured by a teacher-made test of 40 items that produced a mean of 21.33 and a standard deviation of 6.73. The ability scores of the 24 students (Chamorros, Filipinos and…

Chinese and Japanese immigrants to the United States and Canada have survived years of discrimination and oppression and today demonstrate academic and professional achievements that are often better than those of whites. However, the Asians continue to obtain higher scores on nonverbal/spatial tests than on verbal tests and tend to be…