The current study examines the views of experts in the science of mental abilities about the primacy and uniqueness of "g" and the social implications of ability testing, and compares their responses to the views of a group of non-expert psychologists. Results indicate expert consensus that "g" is an important, non-trivial determinant (or at least…

Major presumptions that underlie the use of early intelligence tests are presented and disputed, centering on the construct of early intelligence, reliability, prediction, standardized administration, professional acceptability, utility for decision making, and congruence with Public Law 99-457. Professional solidarity is urged in opposing the…

Notes that there is no pedagogical or psychological research or evaluation to date to justify the use of norm-referenced standardized tests as precision tools. At best, they are experimental instruments, yet they are used as if they are already proven to be valid. (Author/AM)

Compared were subtest scores and full scale results on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children of 197 retarded (IQ 30-69) 7-to 15-year-old children. (CL)

The claim that tests of intelligence and abilities are the best predictors of academic success fails to examine closely the important moderator variable as test and criterion characteristics rather than as person characteristics. (EH)

Investigated the efficacy of various WAIS short forms among outpatients. Results favor Pauker's (1963) short form but also show a decrease in correspondence between short-form and Full Scale scores when the short forms are administered separately. (Author/EJT)

THE PURPOSE OF TESTING IN SEASONAL AND MIGRANT FARMERS' EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS IS NOT FOR MEASUREMENT BUT FOR DIAGNOSIS OF THE DEGREE AND INTENSITY OF HELP NEEDED. TESTS SHOULD BE ADMINISTERED BY THE TEACHER TWO OR THREE WEEKS AFTER CLASS BEGINS WHEN POSSIBLE. THEY SHOULD BE SCORED CAREFULLY, AND THE RESULTS ANALYZED AND INTERPRETED. THE AUTHOR…

Compared was the relative predictive power of learning potential (LP) and IQ measures for 54 low-income Spanish-speaking students (grades 2 through 6) in a transitional bilingual urban school. Ss were administered the Raven LP procedure, the Semantic Test of Intelligence, the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) in Spanish, and the WISC…

Counselors must recognize that most intelligence tests measure a sample of the childs' intellectual functioning on a variety of tasks rather than innate potential. Intelligence varies depending on personality, development, and environmental influences. (Author/HLM)

Two criticisms of the System of Multicultural Pluralistic Assessment (SOMPA) are discussed: the alleged abilities of SOMPA to provide an approximate measure of a child's biological capacity to learn and to obtain an approximate measure of a child's basic potential. (See also TM 504 174.) (MH)

The problems associated with the transition from the secondary level to the tertiary level in education have given rise to many surveys, analyses of statistics, research projects, reports and literature reviews. Much has been written on topics such as testing, selection, prediction and wastage, with findings and conclusions which appear to have…

The relative predictive abilities of two indices of test anxiety were investigated. The galvanic skin response (GSR) and the Test Anxiety Scale for Children (TASC) were used as predictor variables for IQ and achievement test performance. The results of multiple linear regression analysis indicated that neither the TASC nor the GSR, combined over…

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 Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) and Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC) were used to predict achievement (measured by the Stanford Achievement Test) for 200 students with mild handicaps, in grades K through 6 in a rural western school district. Males scored significantly higher than females for every…

The materials cited here represent information on such diverse but interrelated areas as: methods of assessing achievement, intelligence, personality factors, and attitudes; effects of testing on self concept and employment opportunities; prediction of academic success; reliability and validity of specific tests; criticism of the methods and use…