Use the following case study for items 30-32.

Tony, a high school junior, has a somewhat difficult time in school compared to his peers, particularly with word problems in math and other areas that aren’t tangible.  In spite of high motivation, he still struggles, and new situations and problems “throw him” more than they do his classmates.  In order to succeed, he needs a lot of practice, and his approach is somewhat more “mechanical” than that of his peers.  He comments, “I need to be able to ‘see it’ to understand it.  Some of these ideas are just too abstract for me.  Who cares about what would have happened if the Crusades had been more successful for Christianity?  I can get it though, if I get enough practice.” When he gets frustrated, he retreats to his room, where he plays his guitar; he has even done some of his own arrangements.  Tony is very skilled at working with people, and some of his peers turn to him as an arbitrator when clashes occur in club and other organizational meetings.

30  If we were asked to assess Tony’s intelligence according to researchers’ and experts’ traditional conceptions of intelligence, which of the following is the most valid prediction?

a.He will probably score lower on a test of intelligence than his typical peers.

b.He will probably get a score on an intelligence test that is similar to that of his typical peers.

c.He will probably score higher on an intelligence test than his typical peers.

d.We don’t have enough evidence in the case study to assess his intelligence based on researchers’ traditional conceptions of intelligence.

31.  Consider Tony’s intelligence according to Gardner’s theory of intelligence. Based on information in the case study and Gardner’s work, which of the following statements is most valid?

a.Tony would be described as low in intelligence according to each of Gardner’s dimensions of intelligence.

b.Tony would be described as high in intelligence according to each of Gardner’s dimensions of intelligence.

c.Tony would be described as high in intelligence for some of Gardner’s dimensions and unintelligent for the rest of the dimensions.

d.Tony would be described as low in intelligence for some dimensions, high in intelligence for others, and information is lacking for the rest of the dimensions.

32.  Consider Tony’s intelligence according to Sternberg’s triarchic theory of intelligence.  Based on the case study and Sternberg’s work, which of the following statements is most valid?

a.He is probably a bit lower in intelligence than his peers.

b.His intelligence is probably about similar to that of his peers.

c.He is probably a bit higher in intelligence than his peers.

d.His intelligence is much higher than his peers.

Use the following case study for items 33 and 34.

Jackie is a fifth grader at Landmark Elementary School—a school near an affluent neighborhood in a suburb of a major city.  Jackie, who lives with her divorced mother—a high school dropout with a steady job as a minimum wage housekeeper—has a very limited experiential background.  In a discussion of the “Old West,” for example, she asked what a saddle horn was, as Mrs. Markham talked about the western saddles the cowboys used.  Also, she had never heard of the wild turkey, thinking of turkey as what we eat on Thanksgiving.  However, Jackie “picks up” new ideas in class more quickly than most of her classmates, and she periodically asks questions atypical of fifth graders, such as, “Wouldn’t our country be better off if some of the money we spent on war materials was spent on educating poor people instead?”

33.  Based on the information in the case study, which of the following is the most valid prediction?

a.Jackie will get a lower score than will her peers on some sections of traditional intelligence tests.

b.Jackie will score about the same as typical fifth graders on all sections of intelligence tests.

c.Jackie will score higher than typical fifth graders on all sections of intelligence tests.

d.We can’t make any predictions about Jackie’s performance on an intelligence test based on the information in the case study.

34.  Based on the information in the case study and traditional conceptions of intelligence, which of the following is the best description?

a.Jackie is lower in intelligence than most of her peers.

b.Jackie’s intelligence is about comparable to that of her peers.

c.Jackie is higher in intelligence than most of her peers.

d.We don’t have enough evidence in the case study to assess Jackie’s intelligence.

Essay Items

35. Describe the primary difference between traditional views of intelligence and views offered by researchers, such as Gardner and Sternberg.

36. Describe ways in which teachers can apply the research on ability grouping in their classrooms.