Black and White High School Students' Performance on Formal Operations Tasks.
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| Title: | Black and White High School Students' Performance on Formal Operations Tasks. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Miller, Douglas R. |
| Peer Reviewed: | N |
| Page Count: | 12 |
| Publication Date: | 1975 |
| Document Type: | Reports - Research |
| Descriptors: | Black Students, Cognitive Measurement, Cognitive Processes, Cognitive Tests, Comparative Analysis, Concept Formation, High School Students, Racial Factors, Secondary Education, Socioeconomic Status, White Students |
| Abstract: | This study compared the performance of 59 black students and 32 white students on tasks requiring formal operations. The study compared groups from different racial backgrounds and similar socioeconomic environments. It was assumed that if socioeconomic difference was a more weighty experience factor than was racial difference, then differences in performance on the formal operations tasks should be minimal. It was also assumed that the racial designation of students was not a sufficient experience factor to cause important differences of performance on formal operations tasks. A 2,000 student comprehensive high school in a large midwestern city was selected as the setting for the study because it was racially mixed and because few of the students were on welfare. This suggested (along with sociogeographic data) that both the white and black students were of equivalent socioeconomic status. Formal operations problems included combinations, exclusions, and proportions. Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices were also administered. The only significant differences in scores between the two groups appeared on the combination problems. It was concluded that at the formal operational level of cognitive processing, differences of performance cannot be attributed only to racial hertiage. Experience does affect cognitive processing, but, since cultures here are only identified by racial designations and do not consist of racial differences, the important experiences are not racial. (Author/AM) |
| Entry Date: | 1978 |
| Accession Number: | ED152930 |
| Database: | ERIC |
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