Written compositions of 200 second and third grade children were compared four times over a 2-year period to determine relationships of composition ability with intelligence and reading level. A global essay instrument developed at the University of Georgia was used for the comparisons to find out whether or not the instrument revealed any…

A 3-year study attempted (1) to predict reading achievement through third grade, (2) to establish data for a nonverbal discrimination test, (3) to devise supplementary perceptual instructional programs, and (4) to develop screening devices to assess perceptual abilities and identify potential learning disabilities. In first, second, and third…

This study examined the effect of a Specialized Language Activities curriculum upon the language development of 40 selected ninth graders who prepared short improvised dramas for production on videotape. Working on the premise that concentration on one aspect of the language arts would aid development in other areas, students in this experimental…

This study attempts to determine the relative ranking value of information gathering devices that could be substituted for tests of mental maturity. Results indicate that the three best devices are: a standardized test of academic achievement, a test of personality, and a self-concept inventory, all of which are easily administered, scored, and…

Six papers are included in this collection. "How Misconceptions about Language Affect Judgments about Intelligence," by Roger W. Shuy, and "The Cultural Context of Learning to Read," by R. P. McDermott, deal with contexts in which evaluation of a student's reading are made: a teacher's direct evaluation of a student's reading performance, and a…

This paper reviews the efforts of 28 intervention programs designed to train parents to teach school-related skills to their young children. Programs reviewed range from the federally funded Home Start program to non-funded programs run locally by volunteers. Evaluations of the 28 programs, which were designed and carried out by the program…

This paper examines and summarizes information about the success of parent-centered educational intervention programs for disadvantaged preschool children. Historical shifts in the role of the family and the community in education are traced and four types of parent participation educational programs are identified. They are: (1) parents as policy…

Sociometric analysis of characteristics of 29 high scoring and 29 low scoring hearing-impaired students indicated that students accepted by their peers typically were enrolled in the special school for a longer period, were female, and demonstrated favorable behavioral adjustment. Intelligence quotient and academic achievement were related to peer…

Analysis of achievement test scores of 439 tenth-grade students found the hypothesized variables of IQ, socioeconomic status (SES), self-rated motivation, peer-rated studiousness, peer-group status, and parent-rated home environment contributed uniquely to achievement variance; SES, sex, and language medium of instruction were superfluous in the…

Theories explaining differences in IQ performances between races in terms of (a) genetics and (b) the role of the environment are both criticized. It is argued that the Cultural Distance Approach, which stresses the role of a subculture's distance from the major culture on which IQ questions are based, has the greatest explanatory power. (RDN)

Human cognition research is shifting away from the importance of IQ and is emphasizing the stimulation and acceleration of a child's mental development. The emerging field of instructional psychology is trying to facilitate cognitive development. Current experimental programs--a university-school project in Belgium and a family project in…

Assesses the long-term effects of early childhood education experience on children from low-income families. Multisample secondary analyses address two general questions: Were there long-term effects of early childhood programs? and, Were programs more effective for some subgroups of the low-income population than for others? (Author/RH)

Investigates in two longitudinal, observational studies among 3-year-old children the extent to which early experience, caregiver intervention and language mastery activities are more predictive of IQ and other measures of intellectual competence than are child-initiated activities and nonlanguage-oriented experiences. (Author/RH)

Reviews literature and research on child abuse, emphasizing correlation between abuse and exceptionality of the child. States child abuse is not linked with poverty or socioeconomic level; the role of conditions in prompting abuse is hard to assess; a child's special needs may create the stressful environment prompting abuse. (LC)

Patterns of speech from lower socioeconomic status mothers to their infants were analyzed to determine correlations with infant risk of mental retardation. Measures of maternal language included sentence form, amount of speech, and syntactic complexity. The proportion of imperatives was positively correlated with risk status and negatively…