The importance and consequences of raising the average ability level (IQ) of the population requires consideration of the ability level that society requires, how the relevant abilities are distributed, and the efficiency of the current educational process. Within the framework of these factors, the document discusses the determinants of mental…

The purpose of the study was twofold: first, to determine the reliability of a paired-associate (PA) task when used as a test of learning proficiency; and second, to assess the relationship between performance on the PA task and on IQ tests as a function of grade level (kindergarten, first, third) and socioeconomic status (high, low). The…

For 4 months, 221 kindergarten children took part in a controlled experiment on the effects of teaching formal reading at the kindergarten level. Teachers involved in the study were judged comparable in efficiency and attitudes towards the children. The California Test of Mental Maturity Pre-primary Kindergarten 1 was administered to half of the…

Thirteen elementary and four middle schools in a large, suburban district are compared by level of instructional expenditure and socioeconomic status of the community served by each school. Regression analysis is utilized to determine the effect of expenditure on student achievement over a three-year period. Variables significantly related to…

Tests of intelligence and structured measures of emotional status, aptitudes, and achievement alone do not suffice in predicting the vocational adjustment of the mentally retarded. Since the main concern is the evaluation of the many aspects of behavior which make the individual a unique and changing person, a format was developed which included a…

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…