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THE STRUCTURE OF PRIMARY MENTAL ABILITIES OF BELGIAN SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS
Author(s) -
MEURIS GEORGES
Publication year - 1970
Publication title -
journal of educational measurement
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.917
H-Index - 47
eISSN - 1745-3984
pISSN - 0022-0655
DOI - 10.1111/j.1745-3984.1970.tb00716.x
Subject(s) - thurstone scale , psychology , test (biology) , construct (python library) , construct validity , sample (material) , test validity , developmental psychology , factorial analysis , psychometrics , item analysis , mathematics education , paleontology , chemistry , statistics , mathematics , chromatography , programming language , computer science , biology
A factor analysis was conducted of a test battery designed for use with Belgian secondary school students and based on Thurstone's earlier work on the primary mental abilities. The analysis provided construct validity evidence for the existence of verbal, numerical, spatial, and reasoning abilities in the Belgian sample and thus confirmed the theoretical conceptions guiding the development of the test battery. An examination of the factorial organization of these mental abilities for different age groups revealed a progressive differentiation of abilities with age. There was also evidence that intensive academic specialization improves performance in the abilities required by these specializations.