Discusses the structure and results of a university physics entry examination that measures students' expertise with mathematical tools and formal logic operations required for the study of college physics. Indicates that the examination adequately serves incoming students: to evaluate academic potential; to emphasize specific deficiencies; and to…

Examines the differences between norm-referenced tests (standardized assessments of intelligence, aptitude, achievement, and personality) and criterion-referenced tests. Until school districts improve their potential to develop meaningful criterion-referenced tests, norm-referenced tests will be the major yardstick for measuring student…

The Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery-Revised is a set of tests designed to measure cognitive abilities, scholastic aptitude, and achievement in the areas of reading, mathematics, and written language, in individuals aged 2-95 years. This paper describes the test battery's administration, scoring, standardization, reliability, and…

This study examined whether a curriculum-embedded assessment, the Practical Assessment Exploration System (PAES), could be used with students with disabilities to predict job-related outcomes three to five years later. Results with 103 students assessed in seventh and eighth grades suggest that the PAES offers some promise for evaluating student…

The relationship between the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-III (WISC-III) and the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals-Revised (CELF-R) was investigated in 53 third graders from students in the 15 educational cooperatives across Arkansas. Additional information regarding race, academic achievement, and aptitude was gathered for…

What giftedness really means has been discussed over centuries. This exploration, by a researcher involved in the study of mathematically talented youth, considers that giftedness may take many forms. The construct of general intelligence is probably the most widely studied psychological construct, but it is apparent that the IQ is not an ideal…

This practicum was designed to improve the process used to identify kindergarten and first-grade children who are at risk for academic failure and may need to be referred for a comprehensive special education evaluation. Prior to the practicum, the screening process consisted of a curriculum-based readiness measure which failed to identify…

A study was performed at the College of the Canyons, in Valencia, California, to compare the perceptions of students in basic skills courses with those of their teachers regarding the appropriateness of the recommended course placement in English as a Second Language (ESL), basic English, and basic math. A 10-question student survey and a…

A British longitudinal study of language acquisition was followed up for further information on the relationship between language acquisition, language aptitude, and second language learning. One of the original cohorts (n=23), now in secondary school, was originally studied for native language learning achievement and was now being studied for…

Intellectually gifted children from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds as well as varying levels of risk were evaluated to determine the effect of risk on gifted children when intelligence level has been controlled. Each of 7,323 children from six ethnic backgrounds had achieved a standardized intelligence test score (Wechsler Intelligence…

A project was conducted to determine whether vocational interest and ability measures can help high school students identify vocational education programs in which they will experience satisfaction and success. Six Career Planning Program (CPP) interest measures and 15 ability measures were administered to 2,101 seniors in 19 area…

This publication provides Maine school administrative unit personnel with guidelines to implement procedures for identifying gifted and talented children. Legislative requirements are presented on the left-hand pages and suggested guidelines for implementing the requirements are on the right-hand pages. Requirements and guidelines are organized…

This digest explains basic elements of standardized tests in order to help teachers in making students feel comfortable about taking such tests. Usually created by commercial publishers, standardized tests are designed to provide a common measure of students' performance. They help compare an individual student's performance with the performance…

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether there are differences between males and females on locus of control, if experimental instructions differentially affect the performance of internals as opposed to externals, and if locus of control differentially influences performance on distinct types of aptitude tests. The Children's…

A pilot study attempted to document the existence and incidence of learning disabilities (LD) among primary school children in Botswana. The study also sought to identify effective identification procedures and to determine if LD students are unique to technologically-oriented societies. Data were collected on 620 children from 4 schools (2…