Cognitive Abilities and School Achievement: Addressing Challenges Across Adolescence.

Abstract

Background: The school curriculum is increasingly aligned with real-world contexts and transversal skills. Simultaneously, conceptions of intelligence now emphasize contextual, motivational, and emotional dimensions. These shifts raise questions about the relevance of classical intelligence tests in predicting academic achievement, particularly during adolescence, a time of major curricular and developmental changes.

Methods: Two independent samples of students, sixth-ninth grades (n = 1708) and tenth-twelfth grades (n = 3007), were randomly selected from public schools across Portugal. Cognitive abilities were measured by "Bateria de Aptidões Cognitivas" (BAC-AB), with nine subtests combining three contents (spatial, verbal, numerical) and three cognitive processes (comprehension, reasoning, problem solving). School achievement considers students' grades in Portuguese and Mathematics.

Results: Subtest scores were higher in advanced grades, particularly in early adolescence. The correlations between cognitive subtests and academic achievement suggested that alignment between test item content and curriculum subjects is more influential than cognitive processes. Subtest scores explained a larger proportion of variance in academic achievement in basic education than in secondary education.

Conclusions: Curricular changes may reduce reliance on classical cognitive abilities for academic achievement, though correlations remain significant. More integrated cognitive skills are emphasized as the curriculum aims to prepare students for understanding complexity, adapting to societal changes, and applying knowledge to respond effectively to challenges in and outside of school.