Guidepost 1 How do school-age children's thinking and moral reasoning differ from those younger children?

• A child from about age 7 to 12 is in the stage of concrete operations. Children are less egocentric than before and are more proficient at tasks requiring logical reasoning, such as spatial thinking, understanding of causality, categorization, inductive and deductive reasoning, conservation, and working with numbers. However, their reasoning is largely limited to the here and now.
• Cultural experience, as well as neurological development, seems to contribute to the rate of development of conservation and other Piagetian skills.
• According to Piaget, moral development occurs in three stages in which children move from strict obedience to authority toward more autonomous judgments based first on fairness and later on equity.

Guidepost 2 What advances in memory and other information-processing skills occur during the middle of childhood?

• Information-processing models describe three steps in memory: encoding, storage, and retrieval.
• Although sensory memory shows little change in age, the capacity of working memory increases greatly during middle childhood. The central executive, which controls the flow of information to and from long-term memory, seems to mature between ages 8 and 10. Reaction time, processing speed, selective attention, and concentration also increase. These gains in information-processing abilities may help explain the advances Piaget described.
• Metamemory, selective attention, and use of mnemonic strategies improve during these years.

Guidepost 3 How accurately can schoolchildren's intelligence be measured?

• The intelligence of school-age children is assessed by group or individual tests.
• IQ tests are fairly good predictors of school success but may be unfair to some children.
• Differences in IQ among ethnic groups appear to result to a considerable degree from socioeconomic and other environmental differences. Schooling seems to increase measured intelligence.
• Attempts to devise culture-free or culture-fair tests have been unsuccessful.
• IQ tests tap only three of the "intelligences" in Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences. According to Robert Sternberg's triarchic theory, IQ tests measure mainly the componential element of intelligence, not the experiential and contextual elements.
• New directions in intelligence testing include the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC) and the Sternberg Triarchic Abilities Tests (STAT).

Guidepost 4 How do communicative abilities expand during middle childhood?

• Use of vocabulary, grammar, and syntax become increasingly sophisticated, but the major area of linguistic growth is in pragmatics.
• Metacognition contributes to progress in reading.
• Despite the popularity of whole-language programs, early phonics training is a key to reading proficiency.
• Interaction with peers fosters development of writing skills.

Guidepost 5 What influences school achievement?

• Because schooling is cumulative, the foundation laid in first grade is very important.
• Children's self-efficacy beliefs affect school achievement.
• Parents influence children's learning by becoming involved in their schooling, motivation them to achieve, and transmitting attitudes about learning. The neighborhood is also a factor. Socioeconomic status can influence parental beliefs and practices that, in turn, influence achievement.
• Although the power of the self-fulfilling prophecy is in doubt, teacher's perceptions and expectations may have some influence.
• Historical philosophical shifts affect such issues as amount of homework assigned, methods of teaching math, social promotion, and computer literacy.
• The superior achievement of children in East Asian extraction seems to stem from cultural factors. Minority children may benefit from educational programs adapted to their cultural styles.

Guidepost 6 How do schools meet the needs of non-English-speaking children and those with learning problems?

• Methods of second-language education are controversial. Issues include speed and facility with English, long-term achievement in academic subjects, and pride in cultural identity.
• Three frequent sources of learning problems are mental retardation, learning disabilities (LDs), and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Dyslexia is the most common learning disability.
• In the United States, all children with disabilities are entitled to a free, appropriate education. Children must be educated in the least restrictive environment possible, often in the regular classroom.

Guidepost 7 How is giftedness assessed and nurtured?

• An IQ of 130 or higher is a common standard for identifying gifted children. Broader definitions include creativity, artistic talent, and other attributes and rely on multiple criteria for identification. Minorities are underrepresented in programs for the gifted.
• The Terman's classic longitudinal study of gifted children, most turned out to be well adjusted and successful, but not outstandingly so.
• Creativity and IQ are not closely linked. Tests of creativity seek to measure divergent thinking, but their validity has been questioned.
• Special education programs for gifted, creative, and talented children stress enrichment or acceleration.