An investigation of the effect of structure of intellect training on academic achievement with low achieving primary students

The major purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of Structure of Intellect (SOX) training on learning ability and academic achievement with lower achieving primary grade students. The study was conducted with an elementary school population which had a history of low achievement test scores and high retention rates.

The sample was comprised of 195 students in two elementary schools. In the experimental school one half of the first and second grade students were randomly selected to participate in SOI training, while the remaining students received language experience activities. The first and second grade students in a comparable elementary school served as a control group. Classroom teachers conducted the training three times a week in thirty minute sessions for eighteen weeks. The instruments used to assess the students performance were the SOI Process and Diagnostic Test and the Metropolitan Achievement Test. The statistical procedures applied to the data included the analysis of variance, the analysis of covariance, and several multiple comparison techniques.

Statistical results from the first and second grade students on the SOI test did not reveal significant differences in learning abilities between students who received SOI training and those who did not receive the training. The first grade students in the SOI group did achieve significance on one subtest, memory for visual details (MFU). There was no statistical difference in academic achievement among the first grade students. The second grade achievement scores showed that the control group scored significantly higher in math, language, and total basic battery.

The findings from this study do not support the SOI premise that training of intellectual abilities contributes to increased academic performance with this student population. It was concluded that generalized SOI training did not significantly strengthen learning ability nor raise achievement of lower achieving primary grade students.