Examines traditional psychometric approaches to measuring intelligence and recent work by cognitive psychologists to develop a rationale for a non-verbal reasoning test for 10- to 11-year-olds. Recent studies providing basis for analyzing structure of test items are outlined, and benefits of analyzing items at a sub-type level are discussed.…

Asserts that the inference that a "hump" in the statistical distribution of reading achievement data represents retardation is unwarranted. Contends that the use of any particular cutoff point to identify severe underachievement in reading is arbitrary, and thus that the issue of reading retardation prevalence is inseparable from its definition.…

The study described confirms previous research that has found delayed cognitive development of Down's Syndrome (DS) children. However, errors committed in task performance by DS infants did not conform to characteristic patterns for normal infants, indicating that cognitive development among DS children differs in important respects from that of…

A study of 90 nine year olds in five ethnically mixed New Zealand classrooms indicated that teachers perceived Polynesian pupils less favorably than White students on dimensions reflecting parent/home factors and academic work skills. Observations of teacher pupil interaction, however, showed no ethnic differences. (Author/GC)

In response to the preceding article, the authors contend that the pursuit of accuracy in identifying Piagetian stages may be counterproductive to the more important task of providing appropriate curriculum sequences. (KC)