Operational intelligence and school problems measured by Piagetian tasks and Rhode Island Pupil Identification Scale

To explore the relations between operational intelligence rated on several Piagetian tasks and school learning problems identified by the Rhode Island Pupil Identification Scale by Novack, Bonaventura, and Merenda we assumed that Piagetian performances would allow predicting learning problems of first graders. 38 pupils were evaluated by three teachers, who were asked to complete the Rhode Island scale. Then the same children were individually given 8 Piagetian tests (including conservation and logical tasks) by an examiner who had no information about the pupils' other scores. Analysis showed that successful Piagetian performances were associated with ratings of successful schoolwork. Analysis of variance confirmed that difficulties in operational reasoning predict occurrence of learning problems. We concluded that operational intelligence and school learning in children are closely related.