I. Validity of WISC-R factor scores in predicting achievement and attention for four sociocultural groups

The predictive validity of WISC-R factor scores was examined with samples from the four sociocultural groups of Anglo, Black, Chicano, and native American Papago. The Full Scale IQ and Verbal Comprehension (VC) factor scores were significantly better predictors of achievement as measured by teacher ratings and the Metropolitan Achievement Test. The Perceptual Organization and Freedom from Distractibility (FD) factor scores were also significantly related to achievement, but at a lower level than Full Scale and VC. The correlations of the WISC-R and achievement measures were nearly the same for three of the four groups (exception was native American Papago). The relationship of the FD factor score to ratings of attention was statistically significant, but relatively low. Cautions in interpreting FD as a measure of attention were recommended due to overlap of distributions and low proportion of variance in attention accounted for by FD.     

The heritability of conscientiousness facets and their relationship to IQ and academic achievement

The heritability of conscientiousness has been one of the least explored of the NEO PI domains. Here we focus on the facet scales of the conscientiousness domain, estimating both their heritability and their correlations with measures of IQ and academic achievement (Queensland Core Skills Test; QCST) in a sample of adolescent twins and their non-twin siblings. Our findings confirmed positive associations between IQ and the facets of Competence and Dutifulness (ranging 0.11–0.27), with academic achievement showing correlations of 0.27 and 0.15 with these same facets and 0.15 with Deliberation. All conscientiousness facets were influenced by genes (broad sense heritabilities ranging 0.18–0.49) and unique environment, but common environment was judged unimportant. A multivariate genetic analysis including Competence, Dutifulness, IQ (verbal, performance) and QCST scores showed that common variance was primarily explained by a general additive genetic factor (loadings ranging 0.15–0.84). Future multivariate genetic analysis which incorporates Openness to Experience dimensions may improve the interpretation of these findings.     

Early disruptive behavior,IQ, and later school achievement and delinquent behavior

A series of structural equation models is developed to examine the relationship between early externalizing behaviors (conduct problems, attention deficit) and IQ measured at age 8 years, academic achievement over the period 10 to 13 years, and delinquent behavior to the age of 15 in a birth cohort of New Zealand children. These models indicated that early externalizing behaviors and IQ were related to later academic achievement and delinquent behavior by two quite distinct but highly correlated developmental sequences. In one sequence early conduct problems were predictive of later delinquency but were not directly related to later academic achievement. In the other sequence, attention deficit and IQ were prognostic of later school achievement but were not directly related to delinquency. Further, the apparent correlations between academic achievement and delinquency were adequately explained by the common and correlated effects of early behavior and IQ on later achievement and delinquency. These conclusions remained unchanged when the sample was stratified by gender, and when further explanatory factors were introduced into the model.This research was funded by grants from the Health Research Council of New Zealand, the Canterbury Medical Research Foundation and the National Child Health Research Foundation.     

Factorial validity and reliability of the Devereux Elementary School Behavior Rating Scale

The factorial validity and internal consistency reliability of the Devereux Elementary School Behavior Rating Scale was examined using a random sample of elementary-school children in grades I through 6. Teacher ratings of subjects' classroom behaviors on the Devereux approximated ratings obtained by the standardization sample. Internal consistency (coefficient alpha) reliability coefficients of the 11 Devereux subscales were found to be quite adequate, ranging from 80 to 93. Intercorrelations among Devereux subscales were moderate to high. A principal factor analysis of the 11 subscales produced two factors with eigenvalues greater than 1.0, which cumulatively accounted for 70.2% of the total variance. When rotated via an orthogonal (Varimax) solution, the two resultant factors appeared to measure emotional adjustment and academic related dimensions of classroom behavior. Given the problem of multicollinearity that was shown to exist among subscales, the authors suggest caution in the interpretation of Devereux subscales as discrete factors.The authors gratefully acknowledge computer support funding provided by the University of Wisconsin, Graduate School Research Committee Grant 135-1537 to the first author.     

Genetic and environmental influences on academic achievement trajectories during adolescence

Most studies have considered the effects of particular characteristics on academic achievement individually, which means that little is known about how they function together. Using the population-based Minnesota Twin Family Study, the authors investigated the effects of child academic engagement (interest, involvement, effort), IQ, depression, externalizing behavior, and family environmental risk on academic achievement (reported school grades) from ages 11 through 17. Hierarchical linear growth curve modeling showed main effects on initial reported Grades for all variables, and IQ mitigated the deleterious effects of family risk and externalizing. Only engagement affected change in Grades through adolescence. Influences on initial Grades were strongly genetically influenced, associated primarily with IQ, engagement, and externalizing behavior. Shared environmental influences on initial Grades linked engagement, IQ, and family risk. Genetic influences on change in Grades were substantial, but they were not associated with the academic, family risk, and mental health covarying factors. These results indicate that age 11 achievement and change in achievement through adolescence show systematic patterns and document the existence of individual differences in the commonly shared developmental experience of adapting to the school environment.     

Factor analysis and discriminant analysis of psychoeducational report contents

This study evaluated the psychoeducational reports of 205 children who were referred to the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Hospital for evaluation of academic achievement problems. Factor analysis of the report data indentified a medical factor, a school history factor, and a family factor. Following factor analysis, all three factors as well as measures of cognitive functioning and academic achievement were entered into a discriminant analysis in order to determine which variables, if any, helped predict the educational placement finally to be recommended for each child at the end of the individual psychoeducational work-up. Statistical analysis indicated different results for each of four educational placement options, the greatest predictability being associated with regular classroom placement. Across all placements, the variable that allowed for the greatest accuracy in predicting educational programming recommendations was academic achievement, measured as mean achievement score on standardized achievement tests.     

Constructive thinking: a broad coping variable with specific components

The structure of constructive thinking and the development of an instrument for measuring it, the Constructive Thinking Inventory (CTI), were discussed. Scales were derived from a factor analysis of an item domain of people's everyday automatic thinking. When the CTI and other tests were factor analyzed, separate intellective and nonintellective factors were found, with the CTI loading more strongly on the nonintellective factor than any other test. Only measures of IQ loaded on the intellective factor. The global constructive thinking scale correlated significantly with success in work, love, social relationships, and in maintaining emotional and physical well-being, but not with academic achievement, the only criterion with which the measures of IQ correlated strongly. The patterns of correlations between the CTI scales and the various criteria as well as the factor analysis demonstrated that the construct of constructive thinking is differentiated as well as integrated.     

The relations between type A behavior, clinically relevant behavior, academic achievement, and IQ in children

The relation of Type A behavior to IQ, academic achievement, and several clinically relevant dimensions of behavior in children was assessed in 873 fourth, fifth, and sixth graders by means of the Matthews Youth Test for Health (MYTH), the Cognitive Abilities Test (CAT), the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITED), and the teachers' form of the Missouri Children's Behavior Checklist (MCBC-T). The MYTH and its competitiveness and impatience-aggression subscales were found to be differentially related to academic achievement and to account for a small but significant portion of the variance in achievement not accounted for by IQ. The subscales of the MYTH were found to be highly correlated with several clinically familiar dimensions of children's behavior. The significance of these findings for the construct validity of the MYTH is discussed.     

动机因素、学习策略、智力水平对学生学业成就的影响

以１１９名高中学生为被试,测量研究了动机因素、学习策略、智力水平对学生学业成就的影响。结果表明,自我效能、内在动机、掌握目标、学习策略、智商分数与学业成就呈显著的正相关,外在动机、业绩目标与学业成就呈显著的负相关。智商分数、学习策略、动机因素与学业成就存在着因果关系,智商分数（β＝０.４７６）、学习策略（β=０．２２０）、自我效能（β＝０.２０７）、掌握目标（β＝０．１８５）对学业成就有显著的回归效应,并直接影响学业成就。而内在动机（β＝０．１８４）通过直接影响学习策略而间接影响学业成就。     

Causal ordering of academic self‐concept and achievement: Effects of type of achievement measure

Background. The relation between academic self‐concept and achievement has been examined in a large number of studies. The majority of these studies have found evidence for a reciprocal effects model. However, there is an ongoing debate on how students' achievement should be measured and whether the type of achievement indicator (grades, tests, teacher ratings) affects the causal pattern found in these studies. Aims. The study aims at clarifying how the types of achievement measures and the way they are modelled can affect the results of causal ordering studies. In that sense, the study will yield recommendations for researchers in this domain and also provide some direction for practitioners seeking ways to enhance their students' achievement and/or academic self‐concept. Sample. Repeated measures of academic self‐concept and achievement (standardized tests and teacher ratings) were examined in a sample of 1,753 students in Grades 7, 8, 10, and 12. Method. Structural equation modelling was used. Several models (with different types and numbers of achievement measures) were compared. Results. Only small differences were found between models using one or two indicators of achievement. All models generally supported the reciprocal effects model. However, the final model, wherein tests and teacher ratings were used as separate latent variables, showed different developmental patterns in the causal relation between academic self‐concept and achievement. Conclusions. Researchers should interpret the results of causal ordering studies discerningly because the type of measure chosen as an indicator of achievement might affect the causal pattern between academic self‐concept and achievement.     

Correlates of Children's Usage of Videogames and Computers1

Fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-grade students responded to a questionnaire concerning their experiences with electronic videogames and computers. Teacher ratings of academic achievement, personality characteristics, and behavior patterns were also obtained for each student. These data were used to examine a number of hypotheses concerning potential harmful or beneficial effects of electronic videogames on school-age children, and to provide preliminary evidence concerning the correlates of computer usage by school-age children. Videogame usage showed significant positive correlations with teacher ratings of impulsivity, significant negative correlations with ratings of academic achievement, and little relationship to rated sociability. Videogame use also proved positively related to other social activities and to microcomputer use.     

Utility of teacher behavior ratings for identifying special needs students

The purpose of this study was to explore the efficacy of a teacher behavior rating instrument for identifying special needs students. Using a modified form of theDevereux Elementary School Behavior Rating (DESB)Scale 35 kindergarten through grade 6 regular classroom teachers completed ratings on all of their 876 students. Subsequently, extensive aptitude, academic, social, and behavioral assessment was conducted and those students were identified who were in need of supportive educational programming to function adequately within the regular class setting. Analysis of the teacher behavior ratings indicated a highly significant difference between those students identified for special supportive services and their regular classroom peers on 9 of 11 behavioral factors. The findings lend clear support for the use of classroom teachers' behavior ratings in the identification process.     

Interrelationships among students' study activities,self-concept of academic ability,and achievement as a function of characteristics of high-school biology courses

This investigation focused on the interrelationships among students' study activities, students' self-concept of academic ability ratings, students' academic achievement, and instructional practices in 12 high school biology courses. Using a framework derived from a previous investigation, course features were classified into those that appear to (a) place demands on, (b) support, or (c) compensate for student engagement in particular study activities. Students' study activities, self-concept of academic ability ratings, and achievement were measured with experimenter-developed instruments. Results are reported for (a) characteristics of instruments and course features, (b) relationships between central factors of the investigation, and (c) multi-level relationships between course features and student variables. Results at the student level indicated that self-concept of academic ability and, to a lesser extent, students' study activities were positively associated with student achievement. Students' self-concept of academic ability ratings were also linked to students' engagement in generative, proactive study activities. At the course level the supportive practices of providing challenging homework assignments and extensive feedback on student coursework were associated with student engagement in effortful, generative, proactive study activities. The provision of extensive feedback was also associated with high student achievement. Multi-level relationships were analysed using hierarchical linear modelling (HLM) analyses. These analyses revealed, for example, that in courses in which little or no feedback is given on homework assignments, the relationship between achievement and student engagement in diligent effort management activities was enhanced. Other HLM analyses were conducted to examine the mediating role of course features on the relationship between students' self-concept of academic ability and their study activities and achievement. For example, the presence of challenging course demands was associated with an enhancement of the relationship between self-concept of academic ability and achievement whereas the presence of instructor provisions (supports and compensations) designed to reduce course demands was associated with a reduction in this relationship.     

Role of resilient personality on lower achieving first grade students' current and future achievement

This study investigated a measurement model of personality resilience and the contribution of personality resilience to lower achieving first grade students' academic achievement. Participants were 445 ethnically diverse children who at entrance to first grade scored below their school district median on a test of literacy. Participants were administered an individual achievement test in first grade and 1 year later. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed a second-order latent construct of resilient personality defined by teacher-rated conscientiousness, agreeableness, and ego-resiliency that was distinct from measures of externalizing behaviors and IQ. Using latent structural equation modeling and controlling for baseline economic adversity, IQ, and externalizing symptoms, resilient personality predicted children's concurrent and future achievement (controlling also for baseline achievement in the prospective analyses). Model fit was invariant across gender.     

Level I and level II abilities in Asian,white, and black children

All the Asian-American, white, and black children in grades 2 through 6 in a California school district were given a battery of tests including measures of IQ, scholastic achievement, and short-term memory. Factor analysis of the tests yielded two main factors identified as Level I (memory) and Level II (general intelligence) in Jensen's system. The three ethnic groups were compared with one another on uncorrelated Level I and Level II factor scores. At every grade level, bivariate means of the three groups occupy distinctly different quadrants in the factor space. Asians and whites differ on Level I (A < W) but not on Level II. Asians and blacks differ on Level II (A > B) but not on Level I. Whites and blacks differ (W > B) on both Levels I and II, but the white-black difference on Level I is less than one fourth as large as the white-black difference on Level II. A similar pattern of group differences is found for scores on tests of memory and nonverbal IQ. Scholastic achievement shows much smaller correlations with the Level I than with the Level II factor.     

Attention in Children with Myelomeningocele

This study examined attentional functioning in 64 children with myelomeningocele and 27 of their siblings, all ranging from 8 to 15 years of age. The children were assessed using measures of Mirsky's (1996) four elements of attention: encode, sustain, focus/execute, and shift. Their academic achievement also was assessed, and their parents provided ratings of attentional behavior. Demographic and medical background variables were derived from parent questionnaires, and medical records for children with myelomeningocele. Children with myelomeningocele showed deficits across all four elements of attention compared to siblings. Demographic and medical background variables predicted individual differences in the four elements of attention among children with myelomeningocele. The four elements of attention predicted behavior ratings and academic achievement, although the predictive relationships were different for the two outcomes and for the children with myelomeningocele and their siblings.     

Factor structure of Classroom Behavior problems for mainstreamed and regular students

The purpose of this study was twofold: (1) to examine the factor structure of behavior exhibited in the regular classroom in order to provide a conceptual framework for classifying problem behavior relevant to the classroom setting, and (2) to determine the extent to which the factors generated from ratings of regular classroom children are similar to those generated from ratings of mainstreamed special education children. Thirty-five elementary-school teachers completed behavior ratings of all of their 876 students utilizing a group-administered adapted version of the Devereux Elementary School Behavior Rating Scale. The factor analysis yielded five factors defined as Conduct Problem, Personality Problem, Adaptive Classroom Behavior, Inadequacy-Immaturity, and Achievement Anxiety. Coefficients of factorial congruence confirmed the similarity between the pattern generated from ratings of regular students and that of mainstreamed students.     

Depression and achievement in subgroups of children with learning disabilities

Eighty-five learning disabled children were assigned to four subgroups and administered measures designed to assess the relationship between depression and academic achievement. As a group, these children were more depressed than nondisabled children. The subgroups, which were identified as learning disabled only, learning disabled with low IQ, learning disabled with socio-emotional disturbance, and learning disabled with hyperactivity, did not differ in magnitude of depression; however, the relationships between depression and achievement and IQ were substantially different in each subgroup. For the two largest subgroups, learning disabled only and learning disabled with socio-emotional disturbance, it was suggested that depression is the consequence of learning failure in the former and a possible cause of learning failure in the latter. These findings underscore the importance of depression, a heretofore neglected variable, for the understanding and remediation of learning disabilities.     

Longitudinal Predictors of School-Age Academic Achievement: Unique Contributions of Toddler-Age Aggression, Oppositionality, Inattention, and Hyperactivity

This project examined the unique predictive validity of parent ratings of toddler-age aggression, oppositionality, inattention, and hyperactivity-impulsivity to academic achievement at school-age in a sample of 566 high-risk children and families. The study also investigated potential indirect effects of the Family Check-Up on school-age academic achievement through changes in child behavior problems. The results demonstrated that toddler-age aggression was most consistently associated with school-age academic achievement, albeit modestly. Moreover, findings showed that the intervention predicted greater decreases in aggression from ages 2–3 to 4–5 compared to controls. The results suggest that in high-risk toddler-aged children, aggression may be a more consistent predictor of school-age academic achievement than other externalizing dimensions, which has implications for early identification and efforts to promote children’s adaptation.     

A structural equation modeling of executive functions,IQ and mathematical skills in primary students: Differential effects on number production,mental calculus and arithmetical problems

Though the relationship between executive functions (EFs) and mathematical skills has been well documented, little is known about how both EFs and IQ differentially support diverse math domains in primary students. Inconsistency of results may be due to the statistical techniques employed, specifically, if the analysis is conducted with observed variables, i.e., regression analysis, or at the latent level, i.e., structural equation modeling (SEM). The current study explores the contribution of both EFs and IQ in mathematics through an SEM approach. A total of 118 8- to 12-year-olds were administered measures of EFs, crystallized (Gc) and fluid (Gf) intelligence, and math abilities (i.e., number production, mental calculus and arithmetical problem-solving). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) offered support for the three-factor solution of EFs: (1) working memory (WM), (2) shifting, and (3) inhibition. Regarding the relationship among EFs, IQ and math abilities, the results of the SEM analysis showed that (i) WM and age predict number production and mental calculus, and (ii) shifting and sex predict arithmetical problem-solving. In all of the SEM models, EFs partially or totally mediated the relationship between IQ, age and math achievement. These results suggest that EFs differentially supports math abilities in primary-school children and is a more significant predictor of math achievement than IQ level.