The relationships between processing speed, intelligence, and school achievement were analyzed on a sample of 184 Russian 16-year-old students. Two speeded tasks required the discrimination of simple geometrical shapes and the recognition of the presented meaningless figures. Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices and the verbal subtests of…

Why has large-scale standardised testing attracted such a bad press? Why has pedagogic benefit to be derived from test results been downplayed? The paper investigates this question by first surveying the pros and cons of testing in the literature, and goes on to examine educators' responses to standardised, large-scale tests in a sample of low…

VISUAL TRAINING IS DEFINED AS THE FIELD OF OCULAR REEDUCATION AND REHABILITATION OF THE VARIOUS VISUAL SKILLS THAT ARE OF PARAMOUNT IMPORTANCE TO SCHOOL ACHIEVEMENT, AUTOMOBILE DRIVING, OUTDOOR SPORTS ACTIVITIES, AND OCCUPATIONAL PURSUITS. A HISTORY OF ORTHOPTICS, THE SUGGESTED NAME FOR THE ENTIRE FIELD OF OCULAR REEDUCATION, IS GIVEN. READING AS…

This study explored whether visual discrimination problems impair achievement in children with and without learning disabilities. Children (N=66) with learning disabilities were tested for visual discrimination problems, tracked throughout elementary school, and compared to a normally achieving sample. Results indicated lower reading and general…

Presents findings of a study on the visual perceptual dimension of cognitive structure as it relates to achievement in college biology. Results indicate a possibility of using visual recall probes for the early detection of learning differences related to achievement. (SL)

Two tests of field dependence-independence (the Embedded Figures Test and Inverted Tracing Test) are examined as potential predictors of student clinical performance. Results suggest that field-independent students may have an advantage in the clinical dental curriculum. (Author/MSE)

Compared good and poor spellers at the third- and sixth-grade levels on seven tasks that measured visual and auditory discrimination, memory, analysis and synthesis skills. Results indicated tasks discriminated between good and poor spellers at the third-grade level and sixth-grade level. (Author)

Arithmetic and reading achievement scores of 84 children were correlated with power and precision of Bender Memory using the Bender Visual Memory Technique (BVMT). Of the 20 correlations, 16 were significant. Support for recommended use of the BVMT as a screening instrument for early assessment of arithmetic skill is provided. (Author/SJL)

Thirty-six third grade students, identified as the poorest spellers in their grade in three schools in Saskatoon (Canada), were selected to participate in a study of computer assisted spelling programs. Two groups used computer assisted spelling programs, one emphasizing meaningful words, the other nonmeaningful words; while a third group used a…

The construct and predictive validities of the Perceptual Ability Test (PAT) were examined. The results indicate that each of the subtests exhibits different predictive validity. A linear combination of PAT subtest scores was found to be more predictive of first-year dental school technique performance than the total PAT score. (Author/MLW)

Prekindergarten children were given a perceptual discrimination task using letterlike forms and their transformations. The magnitude of the relation to subsequent achievement in reading varied according to the difficulty of a transformation. More easily discriminated transformations were associated with higher correlations. Patterns were similar…

THE DRAW-A-PERSON AND THE BENDER-GESTALT TESTS WERE ADMINISTERED TO A GROUP OF SIBLINGS PARTICIPATING IN A STUDY OF LEARNING DISABILITY. THE SIBLINGS WERE DIVIDED INTO FOUR GROUPS OF SUBJECTS--EDUCATIONALLY HANDICAPPED (EH), SUCCESSFUL ACADEMIC (SA) CONTROLS, EDUCATIONALLY HANDICAPPED SIBLINGS (EHS), AND SUCCESSFUL ACADEMIC SIBLINGS (SAS)…

A study, at the University of Chicago, of 177 unselected children--an entire first-grade class of normal intelligence, of common ethnic background, and within 6 months of their sixth birthday--was made to determine (1) whether those children with speech inaccuracies consistent enough to qualify them for speech therapy would achieve in their school…

Thirty-five second-grade learning disabled children participated in a visual information processing training program designed to teach analysis of visual material into component parts, systematic scanning of visual arrays, pick-up, description, and memory storage of distinctive information, and efficient solution of visual match-to-sample…