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The article presents the results of a study that examines the impact of sociocultural environment on the development of verbal skills in Romani children aged 7-11 years, with a particular emphasis on children from socially excluded localities. The results are based on a verbal test derived from the Woodcock-Johnson Cognitive Ability Test (WJ IV COG), which was processed using item analysis according to the Rasch model. The main results are based on analysing the differential function of individual items within the verbal tests within the research group (N = 399) compared to the normative sample of the Czech population (N = 936). A secondary goal is to compare Romani children originating from socially excluded areas (N = 204) with those from non-excluded areas (N = 195). Regarding item comparisons between the majority and sample groups, they reveal significant disparities in 14 items (70%) of the Synonyms subtest and 9 items (45%) of the Antonyms subtest. The results highlight the crucial role of a more limited vocabulary, particularly in formal linguistic expressions by Romani children. The presented words representing differently functioning items can also serve as a basis for linguistic analysis and can be applied in assessing educational needs. When comparing the group of children based on their residence in a socially excluded locality, significant differences in the DIF were identified for one item from the Synonyms subtest and three items from the Antonyms subtest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We review literature related to the assessment and identification of Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD) and Intellectual Disabilities (ID). SLD and ID are the only two disorders requiring psychometric test performance for identification within the group of neurodevelopmental disorders in Diagnostic and Statistical Manual – 5. SLD and ID are considered exclusionary of one another, but the processes for assessment and identification of each disorder vary. There is controversy about the identification and assessment methods for SLD, with little consensus. Unlike ID, SLD is weakly related to full-scale IQ, and there is insufficient evidence that the routine assessment of IQ or cognitive skills adds value to SLD identification and treatment. We have proposed a hybrid method based on the assessment of low achievement with norm-referenced tests, instructional response, and other disorders and contextual factors that may be comorbid or contraindicative of SLD. In contrast to SLD, there is strong consensus for a three-prong definition for the identification and assessment of ID: (a) significantly subaverage IQ, (b) adaptive behavior deficits that interfere with independent living in the community, and (c) age of onset in the developmental period. For both SLD and ID, we identify areas of controversy and best practices for identification and assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the translation of cognitive assessment instruments into other languages and cultures, with focus on Black populations. Topics covered include the placement of Black children in California in special education courses for students with intellectual disabilities which resulted in the prohibition of administering intelligence quotient (IQ) tests to Black children and the relevance of the case for other contexts around the globe.

(1) Background: The Wechsler intelligence scales are very popular in clinical practice and for research purposes. However, they are time consuming to administer. Therefore, researchers and psychologists have explored the possibility of shorter test battery compositions. (2) Methods: In this study, we investigated 13 potential short forms of the Indonesian version of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—Fourth Edition (WAIS-IV-ID). An existing standardization data set of 1745 Indonesian participants collected for the validation of the WAIS-IV-ID was used to examine the short forms' validity. These ranged from 2-subtest versions to 7-subtest versions. Regression analyses with goodness-of-fit measures were performed, and regression equations were determined for each short form to estimate the Full Scale IQ (FSIQ) score. Discrepancies between the FSIQ and the estimated FSIQ (FSIQEst) scores were examined and classification accuracies were calculated for each short form (% agreement of intelligence classification between the FSIQEst and FSIQ). (3) Results: None of the 13 short form FSIQEst values significantly differed from the FSIQ scores based on the full WAIS-IV-ID, and strong correlations were observed between each of these values. The classification accuracies of the short forms were between 56.8% and 81.0%. The 4-subtest short form of the WAIS-IV-ID consisting of the subtests Matrix Reasoning, Information, Arithmetic, and Coding had the optimal balance between best classification values and a short administration duration. The validity of this short form was demonstrated in a second study in an independent sample (N = 20). (4) Conclusions: Based on the results presented here, the WAIS-IV-ID short forms are able to reliably estimate the FSIQ, with a significant shorter administration duration. The WAIS-IV-ID short form consisting of four subtests, Matrix Reasoning, Information, Arithmetic, and Coding, was the best version according to our criteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since his first appearances in print, Sherlock Holmes has served as literature's resident genius. But what does 'genius' mean in a world that increasingly conceptualises intelligence as a quantifiable and measurable phenomenon? This essay considers the characterisation of Holmes's intelligence in the context of a revolution in the way human intelligence is understood – a revolution instigated by Francis Galton's 1869Hereditary Genius and emblematised by the invention of the IQ test in 1905. This historical context situates Holmes's character at the crux of a shift in the conception of intelligence, as encapsulating a moment of cultural wavering between 'genius' as a mysterious quality or gift, and 'genius' as a higher-than-average number on a scale. Ultimately, this essay suggests that these competing models of the characterisation of intelligence in the Holmes stories illuminate a fundamental clash between the novelistic ideal of portraying incommensurable individuality on the one hand, and the de-individualising trend of the IQ model of intelligence on the other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Measurement invariance underlies construct validity generalization in psychology and must be demonstrated prior to any cross-population comparison of means and validity correlations. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the measurement invariance of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children–Fifth Edition (WISC-V) across Australia and New Zealand (A&NZ) versus the U.S. normative samples. The WISC-V is the most widely used assessment of intelligence in children. Participants were census matched, nationally representative samples from A&NZ (n = 528) and the United States (n = 2,200) who completed the WISC-V standardization version. Baseline model estimation was conducted to ensure the same model showed acceptable fit in both samples separately. Measurement invariance was then examined across A&NZ and United States. The five-factor scoring model described in the test manual showed excellent fit in both samples. Results showed that the WISC-V demonstrated strict metric measurement invariance across the A&NZ and U.S. samples. Further, the results were consistent with the Cattell–Horn–Carroll (CHC) framework of cognitive abilities, indicating the generalizability of cognitive abilities across cultures. Small but significant differences in visual spatial latent means were found across females, highlighting the importance of local normative data. These findings suggest that the WISC-V scores can be meaningfully compared across A&NZ and United States and that the constructs, which align with CHC theory, and associated construct validity research, generalize across countries. Public Significance Statement: This study examined the generalizability of the WISC-V, the most widely used intelligence test for children, across nationally representative samples from A&NZ and the United States. The results suggest that WISC-V scores can be meaningfully compared across A&NZ and U.S. children and that the psychological constructs measured by the WISC-V generalize across countries. However, small mean score differences highlight the importance of local normative data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adults who are homeless experience high rates of health conditions and psychological distress, including low IQ and functional status. Resources are available to help these individuals, but provision of support is often contingent upon the identification of a known disability. In this context, we examined case managers' (CMs') subjective estimates of IQ and functional status in 77 adult residents of an urban homeless shelter. Participants completed objective measures of IQ and functional capacity. CMs overestimated IQs of lower IQ (IQ < 90) participants, correctly estimated IQs of average IQ (IQ = 90-110) participants, and underestimated IQs of higher IQ (IQ > 110) participants. CMs correctly identified 2 out of 8 participants meeting criteria for intellectual disability and 4 out of 16 participants with impaired functional status. These findings suggest that subjective evaluations of IQ and functional status are prone to a central tendency bias, leading CMs to overlook clients who are in need of assistance. Consequently, the objective measurement of IQ and functional status in homeless shelters is highly recommended. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

It is well established that intelligence testing in its modern form developed and was deployed slightly differently in several countries, most notably France, England and the United States. Less widely recognized is the fact that its originators were all part of a close network of scholars who liaised internationally, exchanged ideas and were thoroughly acquainted with each other's work. Their exchanges resulted from the transnational drive to develop a new social science of psychology involving a determination to find empirical evidence on which to base understandings of the human mind. This soon led to the development of a means of testing human performance, not least in the field of intelligence. In the process, close contacts between all those who were to be pioneers of intelligence testing around the globe developed, in touch with and feeding off each others' ideas. This article is an account of the development of that network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(1) Background: The Wechsler intelligence scales are very popular in clinical practice and for research purposes. However, they are time consuming to administer. Therefore, researchers and psychologists have explored the possibility of shorter test battery compositions. (2) Methods: In this study, we investigated 13 potential short forms of the Indonesian version of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—Fourth Edition (WAIS-IV-ID). An existing standardization data set of 1745 Indonesian participants collected for the validation of the WAIS-IV-ID was used to examine the short forms’ validity. These ranged from 2-subtest versions to 7-subtest versions. Regression analyses with goodness-of-fit measures were performed, and regression equations were determined for each short form to estimate the Full Scale IQ (FSIQ) score. Discrepancies between the FSIQ and the estimated FSIQ (FSIQEst) scores were examined and classification accuracies were calculated for each short form (% agreement of intelligence classification between the FSIQEst and FSIQ). (3) Results: None of the 13 short form FSIQEst values significantly differed from the FSIQ scores based on the full WAIS-IV-ID, and strong correlations were observed between each of these values. The classification accuracies of the short forms were between 56.8% and 81.0%. The 4-subtest short form of the WAIS-IV-ID consisting of the subtests Matrix Reasoning, Information, Arithmetic, and Coding had the optimal balance between best classification values and a short administration duration. The validity of this short form was demonstrated in a second study in an independent sample (N = 20). (4) Conclusions: Based on the results presented here, the WAIS-IV-ID short forms are able to reliably estimate the FSIQ, with a significant shorter administration duration. The WAIS-IV-ID short form consisting of four subtests, Matrix Reasoning, Information, Arithmetic, and Coding, was the best version according to our criteria.

Brian Simon (1915–2002), a Marxist historian and educationist in Britain, was a leading pioneer in the comprehensive education movement. Although Simon's great contribution to this movement has been recognised by historians, the development of Simon's ideas and his actions in this movement have hardly been examined in great depth by previous literature. Hence, this article explores Simon's ideals of the comprehensive school and his vigorous involvement in the movement, especially from the immediate post-war years to the issue of Circular 10/65. Furthermore, as Simon was a member of the Communist Party and greatly influenced by Marxism, this article also focuses on how Simon's ideals and actions were underlined by his Marxist critique of intelligence testing and the concept of inherited 'intelligence' itself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the tensions between medical and pedagogical professionals involved with the classification and selection of pupils for the special day-schools for "feebleminded" children that were established from 1900 in the Netherlands to promote compulsory mass schooling's efficiency. These are set against the increasing influence of child sciences, including the new technique of intelligence testing. These schools were meant for educable learning-disabled children, the classification of whom involved a child's (ab)normality and (in)educability. The article discusses the categories defined and labels inscribed on children with learning disabilities. These focused mainly on a child's capacity to communicate and learn to adapt to society, as the special schools aimed to educate productive members of society. In spite of the recognised merits of the schools, theorists turned out to be most concerned about undue placements of not "essentially backward" children, who would benefit more from educational support in a regular school. The selection and admission procedure of the schools was standardised by the introduction in 1920 of intelligence testing as part of a developing scientific assessment culture, which for want of psychologists and despite the headmasters' professionalisation continued to be dominated by the medical profession up to the Second World War. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Bulletin of Educational Research is the property of National Taiwan Normal University, Department of Education and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In this article, we reviewed how intelligence tests were developed and normed, with a careful eye to underserved groups. Based on state recommendations, five group-administered and five individually-administered tests were reviewed for demographics; invariance testing; validity and reliability reporting; and gifted identification suitability. We found only one test included Indigenous youth in their sample; only one test reported racial group means; only two provided internal consistency estimates for different subgroups; and only four reported group invariance testing. Therefore, we concluded that tests developed on samples that omit those to which results are applied, or tests that are developed without regard to how the test functions across different groups should not be used to make high stakes decisions about gifted identification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intelligent vehicle testing received quickly increasing attention due to the intermittent accidents of intelligent vehicle prototypes that occurred recently. In this paper, we investigate the theoretical underpinnings of such testing and establish a rigid analyzing framework for general intelligence testing problems by borrowing the ideas of Probably Approximately Correct (PAC) learning. Our focus is on the relationship between the number of sampled scenarios and the testing efficiency. We explain various existing algorithms within this new framework and clarify some misconceptions about the reasoning underpinning these methods. We show that intelligent vehicles are testable if the testing scenarios are well defined and appropriately sampled. Moreover, we propose a sampling strategy to generate new challenging scenarios to boost testing efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective The Reynolds Intellectual Screening Instrument (RIST) and its second edition (RIST-2) are brief intelligence screening instruments that potentially have value in older populations as their norms extend over age 90. This study examined performance on these two instruments in a sample of individuals presenting for evaluation in a memory disorder clinic. Method A sample of 1,145 subjects over the age of 50 was chosen from 1,761 consecutive referrals. Individuals who obtained a consensus diagnosis of Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI; n  = 536), possible dementia of the Alzheimer Type (DAT; n  = 400), or those with subjective cognitive complaints (SCC; n  = 209) and who completed a neuropsychological battery that included either the RIST (n  = 747) or the RIST-2 (n  = 398) were included in the sample. No clinically significant demographic or neuropsychological performance differences were found for those taking either version of the RIST. Results Unlike the original version, RIST-2 Total and subtest scores were well below the mean for the DAT group and over 1 SD mean difference was seen for the DAT group when comparing the RIST and RIST-2 Totals. Diagnostic accuracy calculations suggested that the RIST-2 showed greater discrimination between the three groups although both versions achieved greater sensitivity than specificity. Conclusions Performance differences were evident when comparing the RIST and RIST-2, particularly for the DAT group. Although the RIST-2 evidenced greater diagnostic accuracy than its predecessor it should not be utilized in isolation for the clinical determination of DAT or MCI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Larry P. v. Riles case highlighted the disproportional representation of Black students in special education and called for the need of fair and nondiscriminatory psychological and educational evaluations. Despite the longstanding ban of the use of cognitive assessments with Black children in the state of California, Black children continue to be overrepresented in special education across the USA and are more likely to receive subpar educational services and supports O'Connor and Fernandez (Educational Researcher 35(6):6–11, 2006); Graves and Ye (Journal of Black Psychology 43(2):192–213, 2017). Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine current evaluation practices with Black children and to assess how current school psychologists account for cultural biases during the assessment process. School psychologists who practice in urban, suburban, and rural districts were surveyed regarding their demographic profiles, preparedness for assessing Black students, and current assessment practices. Results indicated several notable issues regarding the use of cognitive assessments with Black students including culturally bias test content and disproportionality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to examine the factorial invariance of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fifth Edition (WISC-V) between genders in a sample of Black students in an urban, public school district. Few researchers test the validity of cognitive assessments on Black samples and even fewer do so utilizing samples other than those used during standardization. Results from confirmatory factor analytic techniques and multi-group structural equation modeling using AMOS indicated that although the subtests of the WISC-V are measuring similar underlying constructs across genders, the intercepts differ on the Similarities and Coding subtests. This indicates that the scores are not necessarily interpretable at the same level in the domains of Verbal Comprehension and Working Memory, respectively. Furthermore, based on our sample of Black children, scores derived from the WISC-V should be interpreted with caution, as the five-factor model prescribed by the publishers did not fit. Implications for equitable cognitive assessment procedures, as well as noteworthy areas of additional research on cognitive assessment validity for Black children and samples not used during standardization are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The assessment of cognitive abilities has been the dominant activity performed by school psychologists since the implementation of the field. As such, the teaching of this skill to future psychologists is arguably the most important function of graduate education. Consequently, understanding graduate programs instruction in this area is extremely important. Given the fact that the last comprehensive survey of what is being taught in the cognitive assessment course in school psychology was approximately 20 years ago and the fact that laws governing the practice of psychology have changed (i.e., elimination of the discrepancy model mandate), there exists a need to understand current assessment teaching practices in the field of school psychology. As such, the purpose of this study was to understand the current state of the mandatory cognitive assessment course in school psychology programs. Results from our analysis of syllabi from APA- and NASP-accredited programs indicated that several aspects of training remain consistent with two-decade-old practices even in the face of changing legal options and practitioners' assessment preferences. More specifically, the most commonly taught instrument was the Wechsler scale with the Sattler and Flanagan texts being the most prolific. This indicates that graduate training practices have remained relatively stable. Implications are discussed in terms of current and future practices in the training and education of psychologists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the rise and decline of the enthusiasm for intelligence testing in early twentieth-century China, focusing on the appeal, the challenges, and the critiques revolving around this psychological instrument. The introduction of intelligence testing reflected not only China’s urgent needs in modernizing its merit system, but also Chinese psychologists’ aspirations for pursuing exactitude and redefining the racial characteristics of their compatriots against foreign interpretations. But despite psychologists’ endeavors, the political and geographical fragmentation of Republican China troubled the epistemic imperative of uniformity demanded by Euro-American psychometrics and therefore undermined the validity of measurement. Subsequently, the legitimacy of intelligence testing began to be questioned by several influential Chinese psychologists in the late 1920s and 30s. The difficulties in standardization and the hostility within the psychology community formed a vicious cycle, impeding the progress of nationwide testing. Through this history, the article demonstrates not only the elevation of measurement to epistemic authority in modern China, but also how its promise was challenged by a diverse and rapidly changing society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined the trade-off between the cost of response redundancy and the gain in output quality on the popular crowdsourcing platform Mechanical Turk, as a partial replication of Kosinski et al. (2012) who demonstrated a significant improvement in performance by aggregating multiple responses through majority vote. We submitted single items from a validated intelligence test as Human Intelligence Tasks (HITs) and aggregated the responses from “virtual groups” consisting of 1 to 24 workers. While the original study relied on resampling from a relatively small number of responses across a range of experimental conditions, we randomly and independently sampled from a large number of HITs, focusing only on the main effect of group size. We found that – on average – a group of six MTurkers has a collective IQ one standard deviation above the mean for the general population, thus demonstrating a “wisdom of the crowd” effect. The relationship between group size and collective IQ was characterised by diminishing returns, suggesting moderately sized groups provide the best return on investment. We also analysed performance of a smaller subset of workers who had each completed all 60 test items, allowing for a direct comparison between a group’s collective IQ and the individual IQ of its members. This demonstrated that randomly selected groups collectively equalled the performance of the best-performing individual within the group. Our findings support the idea that substantial intellectual capacity can be gained through crowdsourcing, contingent on moderate redundancy built into the task request.

This article addresses conceptual and methodological shortcomings regarding conducting and interpreting intelligence test factor analytic research that appeared in the Decker, S. L., Bridges, R. M., Luedke, J. C., & Eason, M. J. (2020). Dimensional evaluation of cognitive measures: Methodological confounds and theoretical concerns. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment. Advance online publication article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the history of British Mensa to examine the contested status of high intelligence in Great Britain between the late 1940s and the late 1980s. Based on journals and leaflets from the association and newspaper articles about it, the article shows how protagonists from the high IQ society campaigned for intelligence and its testing among the British public. Yet scathing reactions to the group in newspapers suggest that journalists considered it socially provocative to stress one's own brainpower as extraordinarily high. To better understand such disagreements, the article analyses communicative patterns that were used to make judgements about intelligence. This case study sheds light on how aspects of difference and the ascription of social positions are negotiated in public understandings of intelligence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Annals of Cultural Studies / Roczniki Kulturoznawcze is the property of John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Institute of Cultural Studies and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The present study examined whether global ability influences on reading, writing, and math achievement are generalizable across gender in children and adolescents in Grades 1 to 4 (n = 1,276), 5 to 8 (n = 1,265), and 9 to 12 (n = 1,042) using multiple group structural equation modeling with the standardization samples for the Woodcock–Johnson IV. Results showed a small female advantage in writing achievement across grade levels. The General Intellectual Ability (GIA) composite showed some evidence of slope bias with math achievement, and the Fluid-Crystallized (G f -G c) composite showed some evidence of slope bias with math and reading achievement. The GIA and G f -G c composite scores showed evidence of intercept bias mostly in the area of writing achievement. Findings are generally consistent with previous research showing minimal gender bias in global intelligence predicting achievement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Virtual simulation testing is becoming indispensable for the intelligence testing of intelligent vehicles. However, even the most advanced simulation software provides rather limited test conditions. In the long run, intelligent vehicles are expected to work at SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) level 4 or level 5. Researchers should make full use of virtual simulation scenarios to test the visual intelligence algorithms of intelligent vehicles under various imaging conditions. In this paper, we create realistic artificial scenes to simulate the self-driving scenarios, and collect a dataset of synthetic images from the virtual driving scenes, named “ParallelEye-CS”. In the artificial scenes, we can flexibly change environmental conditions and automatically acquire accurate and diverse ground-truth labels. As a result, ParallelEye-CS has six ground-truth labels and includes twenty types of tests, which are divided into normal, environmental, and difficult tasks. Furthermore, we utilize ParallelEye-CS in combination with other publicly available datasets to conduct experiments for visual object detection. The experimental results indicate that: 1) object detection algorithms of intelligent vehicles can be tested under various scenario challenges; 2) mixed dataset can improve the accuracy of object detection algorithms, but domain shift is a serious issue worthy of attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Between 1946 and 1956, the Swedish Psychological and Pedagogical Institute (SPPI) organised several summer courses for the purpose of training teachers in intelligence testing. The aim of the courses was to make these teachers the first gatekeepers who would meet and direct the youngest pupils into ordinary classes or into special classes. This paper investigates the course leaders and the participants in these courses, as well as the content taught. It is argued that these testing courses are examples of a shift in assessment in education from trusting teachers' 'judgements' of pupils' skills and abilities to externally standardising the 'measure' of these merits. It is also argued that researchers and teachers were part of a larger change in the politics of IQ. SPPI's role within this process was that of a new and modern institution serving society: making IQ testing a public familiarity and the stratification of children that often followed from it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article deals with intelligence testing conducted at Santiago's Juvenile Court, in Chile, between 1929 and 1942. It is based on an analysis of 56 court records containing psychological or psychopedagogical reports filed by the Section for Observation and Classification at Santiago's House of Juveniles, an institution created in 1929 as part of the Juvenile Protection Law. To understand the purposes for juvenile intelligence testing in this field, several articles published at the time by the key actors involved in these institutions will also be analyzed. The results of this research signal, first, that psychology did indeed play a role in the juvenile justice system by laying the groundwork for the idea that it was necessary to measure and diagnose intelligence. The Binet-Simon Intelligence Scale, developed in France between 1904 and 1911 and adapted for Chile between 1922 and 1925, was systematically administered to juveniles in Santiago's Juvenile Court; the results were deployed as technical-scientific recommendations at the service of the presiding juvenile judge. On the one hand, this instrument, supposedly scientific and objective, helped legitimize the nascent field of psychology. On the other, it emerged as a useful tool in its own right to assess children. Second, the notions of intelligence underpinning these practices, while certainly in debt to the American approaches from which they were appropriated, managed to forge a more balanced stance between nature and nurture, positioning intelligence testing as a way of conceiving of and planning to prevent crime and reeducate juveniles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: We hypothesised that exposure to multiple, but not single, procedures requiring general anaesthesia before age 3 yr is associated with a specific pattern of deficits in processing speed and fine motor skills.Methods: A secondary analysis (using factor and cluster analyses) of data from the Mayo Anesthesia Safety in Kids study was conducted, in which unexposed, singly exposed, and multiply exposed children born in Olmsted County, MN, USA from 1994 to 2007 were sampled using a propensity-guided approach and underwent neuropsychological testing at ages 8-12 or 15-20 yr.Results: In the factor analysis, the data were well fit to a five factor model. For subjects multiply (but not singly) exposed to anaesthesia, a factor reflecting motor skills, visual-motor integration, and processing speed was significantly lower [standardised difference of -0.35 (95% confidence interval {CI} -0.57 to -0.13)] compared with unexposed subjects. No other factor was associated with exposure. Three groups were identified in the cluster analysis, with 106 subjects (10.6%) in Cluster A (lowest performance in most tests), 557 (55.9%) in Cluster B, and 334 (33.5%) in Cluster C (highest performance in most tests). The odds of multiply exposed children belonging to Cluster A was 2.83 (95% CI: 1.49-5.35; P=0.001) compared with belonging to Cluster B; there was no other significant association between exposure status and cluster membership.Conclusions: Multiple, but not single, exposures to procedures requiring general anaesthesia before age 3 yr are associated with a specific pattern of deficits in neuropsychological tests. Factors predicting which children develop the most pronounced deficits remain unknown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Praxis der Kinderpsychologie und Kinderpsychiatrie is the property of Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht GmbH & Co. KG and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Abstract Intelligence testing remains a fixture in school psychology training and practice. Despite their popularity, the use of IQ tests is not without controversy and researchers have long debated how these measures should be interpreted with children and adolescents. A controversial aspect of this debate relates to the utility of cognitive profile analysis, a class of interpretive methods that encourage practitioners to make diagnostic decisions and/or treatment recommendations based on the strengths and weaknesses observed in ability score profiles. Whereas numerous empirical studies and reviews have challenged long-standing assumptions about the utility of these methods, much of this literature is nearly two decades old and new profile analysis methods (e.g., XBA, PSW) have been proffered. To help update the field's understanding of these issues, the present review traces the historical development of cognitive profile analysis and (re)introduces readers to a body of research evidence suggesting new and continued concerns with the use of these methods in school psychology practice. It is believed that this review will serve as a useful resource to practitioners and trainers for understanding and promoting a countering view on these matters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historically, numerous contextual factors have influenced the practice of differentiating students. Scholars and practitioners consider it a context-sensitive practice subject to negotiations and entanglements among various agents, groups, interests, ideas, and values. Drawing on Foucault, this article pursues the practices, negotiations, and entanglements surrounding differentiation processes and IQ testing’s use in the early Danish welfare state. We argue that the differentiating practice of IQ testing in the Danish educational system resulted from various factors, including the increasing professionalisation of the educational system. This practice entailed an increased division of labour among professional groups; debates reflecting differing ideas about eugenics, heredity, and social equality; the schooling of psychologists and psychiatrists in Denmark; and the development of psychology and psychiatry as academic disciplines. In that sense, we will demonstrate that changes in society’s understanding of intelligence incorporating a greater use of environmental explanations can be said to reflect the emerging welfare society’s security mechanisms, and a willingness to cope with and address social inequality in an evolving and supposedly universalistic Danish welfare state.

This paper examines the value of intelligence testing for the purpose of informing us how best to intervene with children with reading disability. While the original function of IQ testing was to ascertain whether a child was capable of profiting from schooling, there are many who now claim that cognitive assessment offers a range of diagnostic and prescriptive functions which can help teachers in delivering effective educational programs. This paper interrogates such assertions in relation to the assessment of IQ, cognitive strengths and weaknesses, executive functions, and the use of dynamic testing/assessment. The paper concludes that current evidence indicates that cognitive measures have limited relevance for instructional planning, and cognitive training programs have yet to show sufficient academic gains. For these reasons, it is recommended that our energies should be directed to the continuing development of powerful forms of academic skills-based instruction operating within a response to intervention framework.