A Comparative Study of Cognitive Ability and Learning Strategies of Adolescents with Different Levels of Academic Achievementg

The present investigation is an attempt to explore reasons for better academic performance by comparing the cognitive ability and learning strategies of adolescents with different levels of academic achievement. The sample comprised 480 students classified into 160 each for high, moderate and low achievers. Each group was further divided into 80 males and 80 females for high, moderate and low achievers in the age range of 16-19 years, studying in 10th, 11th and 12th class. The criteria for assessing their academic achievement was based on the average academic score for the last two years. Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices (Raven, 1981) and Revised Two-Factor Study Process Questionnaire (Biggs et al., 2001) were administered to assess student's cognitive ability and learning strategies respectively. A 2×3 factorial design with equal numbers was applied with two levels of gender and three levels of achievement (high, moderate, & low). The results revealed that high achievers scored higher on cognitive ability than moderate and low achievers. Also, high achievers practiced more deep approach whereas low achievers use surface approach while learning. Probing the gender differences on cognitive ability, significant differences were more prominent in the low category with males obtaining higher score than females. Results on learning strategies revealed that in case of high achievers, females practiced more deep learning approach than males. While, surface approach was least applied by high female achievers.