Latest research

Birth weight and social class at birth have a strong influence on cognitive function in children, said researchers in a recent issue of the British Medical Journal.

The study did cognitive tests and looked at the educational achievements of 10,845 males and females when they were 7, 11, 16, and 33 years old.

There was significant improvement in both test and achievement as birth weight increased.

For example, the proportion of men with higher qualifications increased from 26 per cent in the lowest (2,500g or less) birth weight group to 34 per cent in the highest (more than 4,000g). For women, equivalent percentages were 17 per cent and 28 per cent.

Standardised maths results increased with increasing birth weight at all ages.

Social background, however, had a stronger effect on maths tests, with children from class I and II gaining higher results than those from class IV and V.

"Our results suggest a cumulative effect of prenatal (birth weight) and postnatal (social class) influences on cognitive development," said the authors. "Although the overall effect size of differences in cognitive scores associated with birth weight is small for individuals, the impact in populations may be important."

Parent involvement key to good grades

The secret to good grades lies in parents' elaborate and meticulous planning to bolster their children educationally at home, according to a survey carried out in Singapore.

An in-depth study by the National Institute of Education revealed that the children of parents who do not leave everything to private lessons, or who give up their jobs for their offspring's sake, often do well in their examinations.

These parents can often be seen in school as they want to find out from principals and other parents about the latest developments in education. At home, they chat up neighbours whose children have good grades, asking their advice.

By comparison, the children of parents who are focused on their careers and who rely on private lessons, family members and even maids to help their children cope with school, do not do as well.

Stay in school for better health

Researchers in the US believe they have found an explanation for good health among the educated: They are better than less educated people at following doctor's orders.

A study in a recent issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests that patients with higher education levels are more apt to stick with complex medical treatments and, as a result, enjoy better health than patients with less schooling.

"The traditional arguments - that the less well-to-do have access to less or lower quality medical care, or exhibit a stronger pattern of deleterious personal behaviour such as smoking and excess drinking - are seen to be incomplete," wrote the study's authors.

The researchers examined more than 2,800 patients infected with HIV and more than 14,000 diabetics and found that in all cases, patients with postsecondary educations were more likely to follow their treatment regimes than those who had failed to complete high school.

Exams an unreliable test of ability

Exam results are so unreliable as indicators of student ability and performance, that universities would almost be better off flipping a coin to choose between applicants, according to a recent UK study.

"If you get bad grades at A-level, it doesn't mean you can't benefit from university. If you get good grades, it doesn't guarantee you an easy passage," said one of the authors of the study.

"....Examination grades...are of only limited use as predictors of future performance.

"Such data as there are indicates that we would pick the better student only 60 per cent of the time - 40% of the time, the student with worse A-level grades would do better at university."

The authors gave three reasons why exams could give a misleading impression: errors by markers, which were "negligible", though higher for arts and humanities than science subjects; student inconsistency, which meant they would perform better on some days; and the biggest problem - that exam papers tested only a tiny proportion of the knowledge learned.

Greenery an aid to concentration

Young urban girls in poor surroundings who are at least able to look at nature through the window may have an advantage over those to whom even this is denied, researchers in the US have concluded.

A study of 169 children studied differences among youngsters who could see greenery and water from their windows and those whose view was of buildings, streets and concrete.

"For the girls, we found that the greener the view, the better they were able to concentrate, refrain from acting impulsively and delay gratification," said one of the authors of the study.

"Greener views translated into better self-discipline."

Boys didn't show the same patterns as girls, the researchers found. They speculated this may be because boys spend more time playing outside than girls do.