Assessment of cognitive abilities in multiethnic countries: The case of the Wolof and Mandinka in the Gambia

Background: The use of cognitive tests is increasing in Africa but little is known about how such tests are affected by the great ethnic and linguistic diversity on the continent. Aim: To assess ethnic and linguistic group differences in cognitive test performance in the West African country of the Gambia and to investigate the sources of these differences. Samples: Study 1 included 579 participants aged 14–19 years from the Wolof and Mandinka ethnic groups of the Gambia. Study 2 included 41 participants aged 12–18 years from the two ethnic groups. Methods: Study 1 assessed performance on six cognitive tests. Participants were also asked about their history of education, residence in the city, parental education, and family socio-economic status. Study 2 assessed performance on two versions of the digit span test. Recall of the numbers 1–5 were compared with recall of numbers 1–9 for both the Wolof (who count in base 5) and the Mandinka (who count in base 10). Results: Study 1 established that Wolof performance was lower than that of the Mandinka on five out of six cognitive tests. In four of these tests, group differences were partially mediated by participation in primary school and migration to the city. Group differences were substantial for the digit span test and were not attenuated by mediating variables. Study 2 found that digit span among the Wolof was shorter than that of the Mandinka for numbers 1–9 but not for numbers 1–5. Conclusions: Several suggestions are made on how to consider the ethnicity, language, education, and residence (urban vs. rural) of groups when conducting comparative cognitive assessments or collecting normative data

Dyslexia in the twenty-first century: a commentary on the IDA definition of dyslexia.

In offering a commentary upon the IDA definition, we address its main components in turn. While each is technically accurate, we argue that, when taken together, the definition, or more accurately, the use to which it is often put, becomes problematic. We outline different current conceptions of dyslexia and conclude that the operationalisation of the definition for diagnostic purposes often results in scientifically questionable diagnoses and inadvertently leads to significant educational inequity. We propose a simpler definition that describes the primary difficulty, avoids reference to causal explanation, unexpectedness, and secondary outcomes, and redirects practitioner and policymaker focus to the importance of addressing and meeting the needs of all struggling readers

Which Queue?

It is annoying when one is in a long line - at a ticket counter, at a supermarket, at a bank - and someone jumps the queue, taking a position in line ahead of other people who lined up first. The title of Mark Kelman and Gillian Lester\u27s book, Jumping the Queue, gives the reader advance warning of the authors\u27 position on people who edge ahead in line. But the topic of their book is not ticket, supermarket, or bank lines, but rather the line to enjoy the benefits of society. And the focus of the analysis of queue-jumpers is not on customers in the commercial marketplace, but on a particular group of students in the academic marketplace. These students are ones who have been identified as having learning disabilities. Kelman and Lester\u27s book covers diverse topics in its eight chapters totaling 313 pages, including technical controversies (pp. 17-36), the federal regulatory framework (pp. 37-66), local practice (including diagnosis and placement) (pp. 67-92), resource management and discipline (pp. 93-116), extra resources for the classroom teacher (pp. 117-60), accommodation on law school exams (pp. 161- 94), and ideology and entitlement (pp. 195-226). There are many points of view from which learning disabilities can be approached, and the authors\u27 point of view, indicated by the subtitle, an inquiry into the legal treatment of students with learning disabilities. The subtitle is appropriate; the book reads more as an inquiry than as a presentation of a strong stand regarding what needs to be done, legally or otherwise. At times, the authors\u27 unwillingness to take strong or even clearcut stands is frustrating. Conclusions often get lost in what, for two reviewers who are psychologists, appear to be technical legal thickets. But it is clear that Kelman and Lester are skeptical of the preferential treatment given to those identified with learning disabilities, because they point out - correctly, we believe - that the accommodations that benefit individuals identified as having learning disabilities would benefit virtually anyone (pp. 172- 73). The authors also express skepticism of whether the system is just, granting as it does special legal privileges to those who have no unique moral, psychological, or educational claim to these privileges (Chapter 8). Because the book is an examination primarily of legal issues, it addresses somewhat superficially what we believe to be the most fundamental problem pertaining to learning disabilities. This problem is that the concept as it is used in practice is invalid. We have no doubt that the concept of a learning disability is, in theory, veridical. But there is a big gap between theory and practice. We seek in this review to deal with this issue, because it renders the societal legal discussion moot. The laws cannot be just if they are based on a classificatory system that makes little or no psychological or educational sense. The book also may make a false assumption in assuming there is a single queue. Neither success, nor abilities, nor practically anything else that really matters in life is unidimensional. Learning disabilities certainly are not

The Role and Sources of Individual Differences in Critical-Analytic Thinking: a Capsule Overview

Critical-analytic thinking is typically conceived as a meta-construct that arises at the junction of a problem state (i.e., a situation that requires analysis that challenges previous assumptions) and an individual (i.e., an entity with the capacity to exercise critical-analytic thinking). With regard to the latter, there is a substantial body of research focusing on developmental and educational prerequisites for critical-analytic thinking. A less studied aspect of critical-analytic thinking pertains to individual differences, particularly in the set of foundational or componential cognitive skills that embody this construct. The bottom line here is whether, all else being equal (i.e., the same situation and the same developmental/educational stage), there is variation in whether, when, and how people think critically/analytically. We argue that there is unequivocal evidence for both the existence and importance of individual differences in critical-analytic thinking. This review focuses on theoretical and empirical evidence, identifying the cognitive processes that serve as the sources of these individual differences and capturing these processes’ differential contributions to both the critical and analytic components of this construct.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant HD079143

Assessing Cognitive Skills in Early Childhood Education Using a Bilingual Early Language Learner Assessment Tool

In this article, we propose that basic cognitive skills may be fostered and assessed in early childhood educational (pre-K) settings using a technology-based approach to assessment. BELLA (Bilingual English Language Learner Assessment), designed for use with both monolingual (English or Spanish speaking) and bilingual (English and Spanish speaking) children, is designed to attend to cognitive skill development in addition to (pre-)academic knowledge. Specifically, BELLA assesses analytical, creative, and practical thinking in 3–5-year-old children through unique item content and delivery. BELLA is among the first tablet-based pre-K assessments designed to assess cognitive skills needed for the era of the Anthropocene

Scalar Implicature in Chitonga-Speaking Children

Research on the acquisition of scalar implicature (SI) has provided evidence that young children interpret SI differently from adults. However, results have varied, and there is now mounting evidence that around six years of age, children are able to derive the pragmatic inferences associated with SI (Foppolo, Guasti, and Chierchia, 2012). Variability in results across studies could be due to factors such as data collection methods and language-specific differences. In order to add to the growing body of literature in a meaningful way, this research investigated the interpretation of sentences that include SI by Chitonga-speaking children (7-15 years old) in rural Southern Province, Zambia, who were notably beyond the key age of six. The results of this study provide valuable insight into the interpretation of SI in a Bantu language and suggest that the acquisition of pragmatic felicity with words on a scale follows the order of acquisition identified in previous research, but may emerge at a later age in this linguistic context

Math Skills and Market and Non-market Outcomes: Evidence From an Amazonian Society

Research in industrial nations suggests that formal math skills are associated with improvements in market and non-market outcomes. But do these associations also hold in a highly autarkic setting with a limited formal labor market? We examined this question using observational annual panel data (2008 and 2009) from 1,121 adults in a native Amazonian society of forager-farmers in Bolivia (Tsimane’). Formal math skills were associated with an increase in wealth in durable market goods and in total wealth between data collection rounds, and with improved indicators of own reported mental health and child health. These associations did not vary significantly by people’s Spanish skills or proximity to town. We conclude that the positive association between math skills and market and non-market outcomes extends beyond industrial nations to even highly autarkic settings

Associations Between Telomere Length, Glucocorticoid Receptor Gene DNA Methylation, Volume of Stress-Related Brain Structures, and Academic Performance in Middle-School-Age Children

BACKGROUND: The biological embedding theory posits that early life experiences can lead to enduring physiological and molecular changes impacting various life outcomes, notably academic performance. Studying previously revealed and objective biomarkers of early life stress exposure, such as telomere length (TL), glucocorticoid receptor gene DNA methylation (DNAme), and the volume of brain structures involved in the regulation of HPA axis functioning (the hippocampus, the amygdala, and the medial prefrontal cortex), in relation to academic performance is crucial. This approach provides an objective measure that surpasses the limitations of self-reported early life adversity and reveals potential molecular and neurological targets for interventions to enhance academic outcomes. METHODS: The participants were 52 children of Mexican or Central American origin aged 11.6-15.6 years. DNA methylation levels and TL were analyzed in three cell sources: saliva, whole blood, and T cells derived from whole blood. RESULTS: Overall, the concordance across three systems of stress-related biomarkers (TL, DNAme, and the brain) was observed to some extent, although it was less pronounced than we expected; no consistency in different cell sources was revealed. Each of the academic domains that we studied was characterized by a unique and distinct complex of associations with biomarkers, both in terms of the type of biomarker, the directionality of the observed effects, and the cell source of biomarkers. Furthermore, there were biomarker-by-sex interaction effects in predicting academic performance measures. CONCLUSIONS: Assessed in an understudied youth sample, these preliminary data present new essential evidence for a deepened understanding of the biological mechanisms behind associations between exposure to early life stress and academic performance

Capturing Age-group Differences and Developmental Change with the BASC Parent Rating Scales

Estimation of age-group differences and intra-individual change across distinct developmental periods is often challenged by the use of age-appropriate (but non-parallel) measures. We present a short version of the Behavior Assessment System (Reynolds & Kamphaus, 1998), Parent Rating Scales for Children (PRS-C) and Adolescents (PRS-A), which uses only their common-items to derive estimates of the initial constructs optimized for developmental studies. Measurement invariance of a three-factor model (Externalizing, Internalizing, Adaptive Skills) was tested across age-groups (161 mothers using PRS-C; 200 mothers using PRS-A) and over time (115 mothers using PRS-C at baseline and PRS-A five years later) with the original versus short PRS. Results indicated that the short PRS holds a sufficient level of invariance for a robust estimation of age-group differences and intra-individual change, as compared to the original PRS, which held only weak invariance leading to flawed developmental inferences. Importance of test-content parallelism for developmental studies is discussed