Factor structure of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised,Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test,and Peabody Individual Achievement Test in a psychiatric sample

This study analyzed the factor structure of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R), the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT), and the Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT) in a psychiatric sample that ranged in age from 6 to 16 years (mean age = 11.1 years; SD = 3.0). The resultant factor structure of this sample was compared with patterns reported on normal and learning-disabled children. The subjects were 329 children under inpatient and outpatient care who had been referred for emotional disturbances. The results were similar to previous factor analytic studies of the WISC-R and PIAT, showing four factors: Verbal Comprehension, Verbal Achievement, Perceptual Organization, and Number Facility. The implications for the interpretation of these tests in a psychiatric sample and the appropriateness of a maximum likelihood technique in analysis of psychometric data are discussed.     

Children's heart rate reactivity responses to three school tasks

The effects of three routine classroom tasks upon heart rate reactivity were investigated with a sample of 30 typical fifth-grade children. Instructions for a mental arithmetic task, the mental arithmetic task itself, and silent reading were administered under standardized conditions, with a reward being offered for performance on the mental arithmetic task to enhance competition. Heart rate was individually monitored each second during these tasks, and data were collected on mental arithmetic performance and reading ability. Results indicated that some children showed large increases in their heart rates during the three tasks, and that these children should be considered as at-risk in terms of their cardiac health.     

The Bottom Line for Education and Training

Because business and industry training has become a major economic investment for the companies that support it, training managers are increasingly called upon to demonstrate that their interventions are not only effective but also cost-effective. This article describes a cost-effective methodology. It points out how cost-effectiveness differs from cost-benefit analysis. The technique combines meta-analytic and simple accounting procedures to yield an index of relative cost-effectiveness of training interventions. Using examples from the schools and corporate training, the authors demonstrate how the analysis can be applied to a large variety of training situations.     

Guidelines for early admission to elementary school

An early admission procedure is the first step in adjusting formal educational programming to meet the educational, social, and emotional needs of intellectually advanced children. In view of the benefits to the child and potential benefits to society of meeting the intellectually advanced child's needs, it is important that school systems establish early admission policies. This article presents 12 guidelines for processing an early admission applicant.     

Read-Think-Aloud Protocols: A New Data-Source for Formative Evaluation

Traditional approaches to formative evaluation include one-to-one trials which provide some information about revisions that are needed in instructional materials, but typically fail to provide sufficient information about the learner's cognitive processing problems while studying the materials. Read-think-aloud methods are a viable alternative to traditional one-to-ones and provide valuable information about the learner's cognitive processing while reading instructional text. In this paper we describe the read-think-aloud method of formative evaluation and offer suggestions for its use.     

Acceleration of cognitive development of kindergartners

A curriculum modification was designed to increase the general reasoning ability of kindergarten children who were lagging in cognitive development. The new instructional program was tested with 22 kindergarters who scored in the lowest 9% on the EAS measure of general learning and reasoning ability taken from SRA's Survey of Basic Skills. The experimental children were given “learning set” instruction on unidimensional classification, unidimensional seriation, and number conservation for four months. They received the instruction in groups of six for 15 minutes two or three times per week during the time usually reserved for mathematics. Control children received the normal mathematics instruction, also in groups of six, for matched sessions. The experimental children made twice the gains of the control children on the EAS measure, and matched their gains on reading and mathematics achievement. It appears that integrated “learning set” training on these three Piagetian concepts may be a potent tool for aiding kindergartners who are falling behind their peers in cognitive development.