A paper by Professor Michael Shayer that was recently accepted for publication in the British Journal of Educational Psychology has received considerable coverage in the national press. The paper will be appearing online in the next month. It is entitled ‘Thirty years on—a large anti-Flynn effect? (II): 13 & 14 year-olds. Piagetian tests of formal operations norms: 1976-2006/7’ and examines the ability of today’s teenagers to think rationally and logically, compared to the teenagers of 1976.
The research is contributing to the continuing debate on raising standards in education. Shayer said: "Teachers are concentrating on giving the basic skills to more pupils, so the average ability goes up, but they fail to stretch the brightest so the high-end ability falls." Once available, the article will be freely available from the BJEP pre-prints page for a limited period.