Aptitude Measures Research Articles

Right Hemisphere Processing and Foreign Language Aptitude

In this paper we attempt to link three research areas in the field of second language acquisition : cerebral lateralization for language, language aptitude, and success in inductive versus deductive approaches to language teaching. Based on findings from these three areas, we argue that right as well as left hemisphere type processing may play a role in language acquisition at any age. Furthermore, individuals vary in their ability to use the characteristic processing modes of the two hemispheres and these individual differences may partially underly differences in performance on language aptitude measures as well as success in different language teaching approaches. A study of English-speaking adults is reported. The study tests the hypothesis that different components of language aptitude, as measured by subtests II and IV of the Modern Language Aptitude Test (Carroll and Sapon 1959) may represent functions which are differentially lateralized. Specifically, subtest II, Phonetic Coding, is hypothesized to require at least some right hemisphere processing, whereas subtest IV, Words in Sentences, is hypothesized to rely more on left hemisphere processing. MLAT subtest scores are correlated with scores on an English dichotic listening test. Evidence is found to support the hypothesis that right hemisphere linked abilities may underly some aspects of language aptitude. These findings are discussed in the light of other studies relating MLAT scores and hemisphere preference to success in deductive versus inductive second language courses.

LANGUAGE FACTORS AND HISPANIC FRESHMEN'S STUDENT PROFILE

ABSTRACTThis study investigated the role of language factors as potential determinants of Hispanics' educational progress. Hispanic as well as non‐Hispanic educators have argued that if we knew more about Hispanics' language background and language skills, we might improve the assessment of their cognitive and academic skills. More specifically, the purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship of language background factors to measures of college aptitude as measured by the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and other College Board Admissions Testing Program achievement and placement tests. Language background factors that were studied included amount of exposure to both Spanish and English, frequency of use of the two languages, and proficiency in each language.The students surveyed were freshmen in the fall of 1982 who were attending a sample of four‐year institutions that were participating in the College Board's Summary Reporting Service. The data analyzed included test scores, responses to the Student Descriptive Questionnaire (SDQ), and a special questionnaire supplement that included 36 items dealing with language background and language proficiency questions.The major questions that were addressed by this study were: (1) How did Hispanic freshmen vary with respect to their perceptions of language use and proficiency? (2) What were the relationships between their self‐perceptions of their language skills and their test scores? (3) Were there specific language survey questions that would add to the utility of the SDQ in predicting SAT scores?The principal findings of the study indicated that a large number of non‐SDQ language questions were more highly related to SAT and TSWE test performance than was the existing SDQ question 38 (Is English your best language?). Language survey items probing preferences for using Spanish versus English and freshmen's self‐ratings of English language proficiency seemed to be the most outstanding predictors of SAT‐verbal scores as well as TSWE scores. Many of the language survey questions improved the prediction of the SAT scores by 10 percent or more when used in combination with the SDQ question 38. In addition, the importance of language survey questions as predictors of SAT‐verbal scores varied by Spanish language group, with language survey items being most important for Puerto Ricans.

Effort and Reward: The Assumption that College Grades Are Affected by Quantity of Study

The relation between college grades and self-reported amount of effort uas examined in four major and several minor investigations of undergraduates in a large state university. Grades were operationalized mainly by using grade point average (GPA), though in one investigation grades in a particular course were the focus. Effort was measured in several different ways, ranging from student estimates of typical study over the term to reports of study on specific days. Despite evidence that these self-reports provide meaningful estimates of actual studying, there is at best only a very small relation between amount of studying and grades, as compared to the considerably stronger and more monotonic relations between grades and both aptitude measures and self-reported class attendance. The plausible assumption that college grades reflect student effort to an important extent does not receive much support from these investigations. This raises a larger question about the extent to which reuwrds are linked to effort in other areas of life-a connection often assumed but seldom investigated. That hard work along normatively prescribed lines produces rewards is a belief fundamental to virtually every social system (Heider). The belief is certainly widespread in the United States (Rytina et al.) and is probably shared to at least some degree even by those who emphasize the imporSeveral of the senior author's Research Methods dasses participated actively in both the design and the execution of the main research described here. We are also grateful to Diana Pearce, Jean Converse, and Daniel DuRoss, each of whom collaborated at some point in our investigations; to Marc Schuman and Jacob Ludwig who provided consultation on computing throughout; and to James House and F. Thomas Juster who offered suggestions on an earlier draft of this paper. Address correspondence to Howard Schuman, Department of Sociology, University of Mchigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1382.

What research says about career maturity …: A response to Crites, Wallbrown, and Blaha (1985)

Career maturity will not be taken seriously by scientists and practitioners unless they can see that well-designed studies carried out by independent researchers other than the test authors are consistently producing results that are consistent with theoretical expectations. Further, we need to focus our attention on what I think is the real issue, that is, the relationship between career maturity measures and career-mature behavior? It is necessary, but not sufficient, to show that our scales are reliable. It is necessary, but not sufficient, to show that our scales are not duplicating the measurement of scholastic aptitude and achievement. It would be of scientific value to know whether or not a set of career maturity scales is measuring different factors, but such data are not sufficient to establish validity. However, it is mandatory to show that our career maturity scales are correlated significantly with each other and with relevant indicators of career-mature behavior. It is not a fatal blow to validity if our career maturity scales are significantly correlated with scholastic aptitude or scholastic achievement. But if we cannot show that our career maturity scales are contributing something unique to the prediction of career-mature behavior, then our scales will not have credibility among the scientific community, and we had better rethink our concepts as well as our measures.

Do grades and tests predict adult accomplishment?

The relationship of measures of academic ability and grades with high level accomplishment was examined by reviewing a wide ranging literature. This literature included studies of the highly creative, scientists and technicians, physicians, high- and middle-level managers, and high school and college students. The Terman studies of the gifted were also reviewed. Finally, studies of occupational attainment and income were examined. A very wide variety of criteria were used in these studies. In general, the studies demonstrated low positive relationships between academic aptitude and/or grades and accomplishment. The closer the content of the measure of academic aptitude to the demands of the field, the stronger the relationship.

New Perspectives on the Teacher Quality Debate: Empirical Evidence From the National Longitudinal Survey

This study utilizes the National Longitudinal Survey (NLS) of the high school class of 1972 to study the academic ability of those who taught in elementary and secondary schools between the fall of 1976 and the fall of 1979. Utilizing multiple aptitude measures and applying sample weight to the NLS data to correct for sample and non-response bias yielded more favorable comparisons of teachers to other college graduates and to college-bound high school seniors than reported in previous studies. Though showing that teachers in non-public schools score higher on tests of verbal ability, the non-public sector retains fewer high scoring teachers than public schools. Less than 25% of teachers in the NLS sample planned education majors as seniors in high school, suggesting that some public policy may be fallaciously guided by widely cited research based only on the study of prospective education majors among the college bound.

Dynamic Measures of Potential Training Success

The Armed Forces and other large organizations often use scores from standardized aptitude batteries as indicators of cognitive aptitude. However, aptitude may also be demonstrated by the learning that occurs during training and measured by parameters such as initial ability levels and time needed to acquire information or skills. By using computer administered Complex Experimental Learning Tasks (CELTs), learning rate parameters recently have proved to be pragmatic as well as theoretical indicators of final performance. Potential advantages of this approach include ease and economy of computer administration, testee acceptance of job relevant tests, and potential benefits of shortened training schedules. The current research compared rate measures derived from learning on four CELTs with a paper-and-pencil battery designed to include static aptitude measures of the same domains. Performance measures were computed from stimulus display times, subject response time, and item accuracy. Overall final performance was computed using the average of the last five minutes. Correlational analyses and regression indicate that, with some qualifications, learning rate measures are predictors of individual and overall levels of performance on each CELT. Implications of these findings are that the current practice of using static aptitude tests for selection to training programs may not provide the most accurate picture of an individual's potential success or failure in that program, and that, given the trend towrds new computer-assisted training technologies, individuals may be selected on the basis of their potential for rapid learning, thus making use of the least expensive and most efficient training methods possible.

Use of General and Specific Aptitude Measures in identification: Some Principles and Certain Cautions

Use of General and Specific Aptitude Measures in identification: Some Principles and Certain Cautions

Acceptance and Use of Job Performance Aids within an Integrated Personnel Systems Approach

Job performance aids (JPAs) were developed within an integrated personnel system framework in order to determine if JPAs (1) are accepted by technicians with low and high levels of aptitude and (2) are used as a source for maintenance information during task performance. The Enlisted Personnel Individualized Career System (EPICS) is an integrated personnel systems approach with emphasis on (JPAs) that incorporates advances made in many people related research and development areas. The goals of EPICS are reduced front-end training, increased relevance of formal training through early job assignment and distributed training, individualized career advancement, and improved personnel utilization. Job design, JPAs, and training modules were the major components used to achieve the EPICS goals. Two types of JPAs were developed: (1) a completely integrated pictorial/text format in which frequent use of pictorials allows the user to focus on the pictorial and use the text to supplement the pictorial, and (2) a more conventional format in which text was supported by pictorials when necessary. JPA use and acceptance were measured by two different types of questionnaires. For acceptance, JPAs were preferred over conventional documentation for at least some first time (both scheduled and unscheduled) and infrequent tasks by 77–81% of the respondents. When grouped according to electronics aptitude, however, a greater number of lower electronics aptitude personnel preferred JPAs when compared to the higher electronics aptitude personnel (67% vs. 38%). Data on how JPAs were actually used complement the acceptance data in that lower electronics aptitude personnel used JPAs more than the higher electronics aptitude personnel, 15% more for scheduled maintenance and 10% more for unscheduled maintenance. Similar results were found for a general aptitude measure. Although the JPAs were highly pictorial in format, there were no differences in JPA use according to reading level. Results are discussed in terms of how JPA design appears to be related to differential use by low and high aptitude technicians.

Predictability of Giftedness Identification Indices For Two Recognized Approaches To Elementary School Gifted Education

The purpose of this study was to determine which of 13 giftedness identification measures discriminated between gifted and non-gifted students, and to explore whether these measures discriminated against gifted students in groups such as the economically disadvantaged and/or ethnic minorities. The investigated variables took the form of a design where the dependent measures were the 13 identification measures and the independent variable was 3 levels or groups of second- and third-grade students. Discriminate and classification analyses were the statistical techniques used to respond to the questions of the study. Measures of scholastic aptitude, giftedness potential assessment (learning and creativity), student peer identification, and locus of control were found to be sensitive discriminators of giftedness. Giftedness potential assessment-creativity and learning, basic skills-math, and locus of control were found to discriminate least among economically disadvantaged and/or minority students. Measures of teacher judgmental, student self, and parent perceptual identification appeared to be insensitive discriminators of giftedness and seemed to be somewhat biased toward economically disadvantaged and/or minority students.

Predictive validity of five cognitive skills tests among women receiving engineering training

AbstractThis article addresses two sets of theoretical and practical issues related to increasing the percentage of women engineers. First, the measurement of women's aptitude for and changes in skills during engineering training was assessed. Five cognitive skills tests were administered in a one‐group pretest‐posttest design to 24 baccalaureate women enrolled in an eleven‐month engineering training course. Significant increases in skills were shown on three of the five assessments. Scores on a mathematics anxiety scale and a measure of conservation of horizontality are also reported. Second, the relationship of academic and demographic information and cognitive skills to degree of success in the program is reported. Pretraining spatial visualization scores predicted posttraining GPA group membership. The results are compared and contrasted with those of studies of male undergraduates. Implications are drawn concerning the ways in which evaluations of such programs can contribute to our understanding of the changes in skills that occur with training in engineering and of the factors that predict success in such programs.

Investigating a causal model of second language acquisition: Where does personality fit?

The purpose of this study was to determine the role of personality variables in second language acquisition and then to integrate such variables into an adapted version of Gardner's socio-educational model which was tested using LISREL causal modeling. A total of 88 first-year university students of French were assessed on measures of language aptitude, attitudes, motivation, French achievement, self-perceptions of proficiency in French, and personality traits. The latent variables in the model included Language Aptitude, Self-Confidence with the second language, Integrativeness, Attitude towards the Learning Situation, Motivation, Situational Anxiety, and two personality constructs labelled Analytic Orientation and Seriousness. The final model is discussed in light of previous models of second language acquisition.

Absence of a sex difference in algorithms for spatial problem solving

Pairs of stimuli taken from a pscyhometric measure of spatial aptitude were shown to 36 college men and 32 college women. The stimuli in pairs were (a) either identical or mirror images, and (b) presented in orientations that differed by 0–135 deg. Individuals judged, as rapidly as possible, if the stimuli in a pair would be identical or mirror images if presented at the same orientation. Replicating previous work, there was a sex difference in the speed with which problems were solved. Of greater interest was the fact that men and women were quite alike in the frequency with which they used different algorithms to solve the problems. Most individuals solved the problems using an algorithm in which an individual encodes the stimuli in working memory, mentally rotates one stimulus to the orientation of the other, compares both determine if they are identical, and responds. Two variants of this algorithm were also used by some subjects. In one variant, if comparison revealed that the stimuli were dissimilar, individuals did not respond immediately but continued processing until a self- imposed deadline was reached. In another variation, subjects only rotated the comparison stimuli when their orientations exceeded a critical angle.

Measures of human problem solving performance in fault diagnosis tasks

The literature relating to human performance in fault diagnosis tasks is reviewed with emphasis on measures of performance. Based on this review, 30 measures of ability, aptitude, cognitive style, and task performance are evaluated, using data from two experiments that involved diagnosing faults in both simulated and live equipment. Results based on correlation, regression, and factor analysis are presented that indicate only three unique dimensions of performance: errors, inefficiency, and time. In addition, cognitive style appears to be a reasonable predictor of performance. Ability, measured by standard precollege tests, is also a reasonable predictor when combined with measures of cognitive style.

Relationships between age and raw score increases on the Kaufman-assessment battery for children

Raw scores on the 16 K-ABC subtests and the total raw scores on the sequential and simultaneous processing scales and the achievement scale were correlated with age in months for two separate samples, each subdivided by race and sex: the K-ABC standardization sample (N = 2000) and an additional group of blacks and whites tested during the development of the K-ABC sociocultural norms (N = 615). Within each sample, the highest and lowest correlations from all race/sex groups were contrasted across all K-ABC subtests and scales. All correlations between age and raw scores were statistically significant (p ⩽ .05). No significant differences occurred in the magnitude of these relationships as a function of race/sex grouping, supporting the construct validity of the K-ABC as a developmental measure of children's aptitude and achievement for blacks, whites, Hispanics, males, and females.

Course grades and academic performance by university students: A two-stage least squares analysis

This study employs two-stage least squares to estimate an educational production function for university course grades. The dependent variable is grade for studenti in coursej. Explanatory variables include measures of student aptitude and ability, teacher and course characteristics, and student time allocations to academic endeavors. Results of the study suggest that (1) homework assignments, examinations, and use of a required text increase the time students allocate to a given course; (2) time allocated to a given course has a positive effect on course grade; (3) homework assignments, examinations, and required texts, while increasing time allocated to a given course, have negative effects on course grades; and (4) measures of high school performance, in the presence of controls for mathematical and verbal aptitude, are positively related to the time students allocate to university courses but have no significant independent effect on course grades.

Classroom Structure and Student Participation: An Aptitude-by-Treatment Interaction Approach to Instructional Research for the Hearing-Impaired

This study investigated instructional outcomes for postsecondary deaf students due to classroom structure, student participation, trait anxiety, and locus of control. Fifty-seven students at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf at the Rochester Institute of Technology were administered the aptitude measures and then instructed in four groups. A 1-hour facsimile of a classroom situation varied in terms of low versus high levels of structure and participation. Results were consistent with findings from similar studies with learners with normal hearing, and indicate the importance of an aptitude-by-treatment interaction paradigm for instructional research with deaf learners.

Classroom Structure and Student Participation: An Aptitude-by-Treatment Interaction Approach to Instructional Research for the Hearing-Impaired

This study investigated instructional outcomes for postsecondary deaf students due to classroom structure, student participation, trait anxiety, and locus of control. Fifty-seven students at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf at the Rochester Institute of Technology were administered the aptitude measures and then instructed in four groups. A 1-hour facsimile of a classroom situation varied in terms of low versus high levels of structure and participation. Results were consistent with findings from similar studies with learners with normal hearing, and indicate the importance of an aptitude-by-treatment interaction paradigm for instructional research with deaf learners.

Psychometric Properties of Teacher-Judgment Measures of Pupil Aptitudes, Classroom Behaviors, and Achievement Levels

The paper addresses teacher-judgment measures of pupil behaviors, aptitudes, and achievement levels, beginning with a discussion of the applied and research contexts in which these measures are relevant. Analyses relating to the reliability and validity of the measures are reviewed, with the analyses drawn from a variety of literatures. The paper sets forth conclusions regarding the psychometric properties of these judgment measures, suggestions regarding future research on the measures, and statements about the place of these measures within the larger teacher-judgment literature.

Disparities in Grading Practice, Some Resulting Inequities, and a Proposed New Index of Academic Achievement

Part I presents six years of grading disparities found at one university. Reliable grading differences were found at all levels examined (college, discipline, and instructor). Part II focuses upon three studies which show how these disparities translate into inequitable GPA and honor status. GPAs are compared with GCAs (grade centile averages), the latter a relative measure of achievement used in these studies. The first study examines the different grading experiences encountered by 19 students who graduated with the highest over-all GPAs at the end of one term. The second study found 8 students who earned honor level semester GPAs for statistically unexceptional work, compared to their classmates. The third study monitored 7 semesters of overgrading of groups of students who happened to enroll in the same set of courses. Part III presents a long discussion of grading. Findings from the target university Appalachian State University in North Carolina are related to findings by Goldman at the University of California at Riverside and to those by Prather at Georgia State University in Atlanta. Many generalizations are reviewed, and grading practice is related to Helson's adaptation level phenomenon and to Stouffer's concept of relative deprivation. The antigrading view that traditional grading should be abandoned is considered and rejected. Part IV presents the writer's suggested reforms to increase the validity of grading. GCAs based upon performance in selected courses are proposed to determine honor and rank status, while simplified traditional grading is suggested to determine discipline status and whether or not course credits will be earned. Also considered are means to reform various administrative rules which affect grading, e.g., pass/fail, repeat, transfer, and readmission rules. Envisioned for the future would be a more valid index of academic achievement and higher correlations between the new index and other measures of aptitude and/or achievement.