Information processing and speech lateralization in learning-disabled children

The relationship between information processing and speech lateralization was investigated in learning-disabled children. The Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC) assessed simultaneous and successive processing while a dichotic listening paradigm with free recall and directed attention conditions assessed speech lateralization. A three-factor ANOVA design conducted on the dichotic data revealed that normal children demonstrated stronger right ear advantage (REA); whereas learning-disabled showed weaker right ear advantage. Further, lambda analyses conducted on individual subjects revealed that the learning-disabled did not demonstrate the REA, were not biased attenders, and did not get more right ear than left ear items when attention was directed to one ear. Multiple-regression analysis was used to predict sequential processing from the dichotic data for both groups. Learning-disabled children demonstrated a substantial deficit in sequential processing as compared to normal children. These results indicate that learning-disabled children may not have adequate cerebral lateralization of receptive speech processes, shift their attention more readily, and are more inadequate in sequential processing that presumably subserves language functioning. Perhaps learning-disabled children have deficiencies of processor capacity of salient areas of the left (language) hemisphere.     

Sex differences in historical knowledge and school grades: a 26 nation study

Sex differences among ninth grade school students in historical knowledge and grades were examined in 29 samples drawn from 26 countries. Boys obtained higher mean scores on the tests of historical knowledge in all samples, while girls obtained better grades in 22 of the samples.     

Educational Success in High-Risk Settings: Contributions of the Chicago Longitudinal Study

I provide an overview of the Chicago Longitudinal Study. This prospective study traces the educational and social success of a large sample of low-income children (over 90% of whom are African American) from high-poverty neighborhoods in the Chicago Public Schools. In 1985–1986, the sample participated in the Child–Parent Centers and other early childhood programs. The four studies reported in this special issue highlight the contributions of school mobility, parent involvement, educational expectations, and other family and school experiences in preventing learning problems and promoting educational success.     

Randomization-based inference about latent variables from complex samples

Standard procedures for drawing inferences from complex samples do not apply when the variable of interest cannot be observed directly, but must be inferred from the values of secondary random variables that depend on stochastically. Examples are proficiency variables in item response models and class memberships in latent class models. Rubin's multiple imputation techniques yield approximations of sample statistics that would have been obtained, had been observable, and associated variance estimates that account for uncertainty due to both the sampling of respondents and the latent nature of. The approach is illustrated with data from the National Assessment for Educational Progress.This research was supported by Grant No. NIE-G-83-0011 of the Office for Educational Research and Improvement, Center for Education Statistics, and Contract No. N00014-88-K-0304, R&T 4421552 from the Cognitive Sciences Program, Cognitive and Neural Sciences Division, Office of Naval Research. It does not necessarily reflect the views of either agency. I am grateful to R. Darrell Bock for calling my attention to the applicability of multiple imputation to the assessment setting; to Albert Beaton and Eugene Johnson for enlightening discussions on the topic; and to Henry Braun, Ben King, Debra Kline, Gary Phillips, Paul Rosenbaum, Don Rubin, John Tukey, Ming-Mei Wang, Kentaro Yamamoto, Rebecca Zwick, and two anonymous reviewers for comments on earlier drafts. Example 4 is based on the analysis of the 1984 National Assessment for Educational Progress reading survey, carried out at Educational Testing Service through the tireless efforts of too many people to mention by name, under the direction of Albert Beaton, Director of NAEP Data Analyses. David Freund, Bruce Kaplan, and Jennifer Nelson conducted additional analyses of the 1984 and 1988 data for the example.     

Cognitive style and elaboration of logical abilities in hearing-impaired children

Ninety-seven hearing-impaired children ages 8–12 were given the Raven Coloured Progressive Matrices (CPM) and a Piagetian battery under one of six conditions of testing: (a₁) standard, (a₂) simple feedback, (a₃) “verbalization” after problem solution (a₄) “verbalization” during and after solution, (a₅) differential feedback, and (a₆) conditions a₄ and a₅ combined. Kagan's Matching Familiar Figures Test (MFFT) and the Nowicki-Strickland Internal-External Control scale were also administered. Performance under conditions a₅ and a₆ was greater than performance under conditions a₃ and a₄, which in turn exceeded performance in conditions a₁ or a₂. MFFT errors, MFFT latency, and locus of control score were differentially related to performance in the different testing conditions. A significant prediction equation was found for both the CPM and Piagetian battery under a₂, a₃, and a₆ and for the CPM under a₄. All analyses indicated consistency of findings across both criterion measures. The findings of this investigation may be used as an aid in the development of diagnostic instruments and procedures which take individual differences along dimensions of personality and cognitive style into account.     

Competency-based training in behavioral consultation

The design of competency-based training in behavioral consultation is described as involving the specification of objectives, training procedures, and evaluation techniques. The relationship of training and evaluation to behavioral-consultation training objectives and the benefits to a competency-based training approach are discussed.     

The development of visual and auditory selective attention using the central-incidental paradigm

Analogous auditory and visual central-incidental learning tasks were administered to 24 second-, fourth-, and sixth-grade and college-age subjects to study the effects of modality of presentation on memory for central and incidental stimulus materials. There was no strong evidence to indicate that modality of presentation was an important factor in the development of selective attention. Central task learning increased with age for both auditory and visual presentations; incidental learning declined at the oldest age level for both auditory and visual tasks. The serial position analysis revealed that the observed developmental increase in recall performance was due primarily to differences in the initial serial positions. The use of active strategies for focusing attention on the relevant stimulus materials seemed to be the crucial determinant of level of performance.     

Effects of short-term counseling on Career Maturity of tenth-grade students

The effectiveness of short-term counseling on Career Maturity of tenth-grade students as measured by the Career Maturity Inventory was studied. The Career Maturity Attitude Scale and the Self Appraisal subscale of the Competence Test were administered to a random sample (87 subjects) of tenth-grade students. The subjects whose scores fell below the mean were assigned randomly to experimental and control groups. The experimental group (17 subjects) received special counseling during a short term of 6 wk. Using repeated measures of analysis of variance, a statistically significant interaction was found with both the Self Appraisal subscale scores and the Total scale scores. Results indicate that career maturity as a developmental process can be measured and facilitated through counseling.     

Cognitive differentiation as a function of information type and its relation to career choice

Although providing occupational information is a common vocational counseling practice, recent research has raised questions about the utility of such information. Cognitive differentiation (the ability to differentiate among job titles on 12 constructs) has been shown to be positively related to an “appropriate” career choice. Differentiation, however, appears to decrease as a function of traditional types of occupational information (e.g., Occupational Outlook Handbook, U.S. Department of Labor, Washington, D.C., 1980). The present study investigated the hypothesis that information related to Holland personality characteristics of persons in various occupations would increase subjects' ability to differentiate among those job titles. One hundred fifty undeclared-major freshman undergraduate students were randomly assigned to one of three condition groups: objective information, personality information, no information. All subjects were administered the Career Decision Scale and Cognitive Differentiation Grid. Results indicated that subjects receiving personality information exhibited a significantly greater degree of differentiation among careers than subjects receiving objective information. These results confirm the major hypothesis of the study and suggest that the provision of personality information may be more useful in promoting career choice than the types of information traditionally provided.