The learner control principle is that giving learners control over their instruction by allowing them to pace, sequence, and select information aids learning if learners possess high levels of prior knowledge and if they receive additional instructional support to orient themselves in the learning environment and to self-regulate their learning. Learner control has been suggested to afford an active, constructive processing of instruction, to increase and sustain the motivation to learn, to enhance the acquisition of self-regulatory skills, and to enable learners to adapt instruction to their preferences and needs. Despite these envisioned benefits, there is little empirical evidence supporting these claims, which is largely because these benefits are overwritten by the additional cognitive and metacognitive demands learner control imposes.

This chapter examines the reciprocal relation between intelligence and achievement, particularly within academic domains such as verbal ability and mathematical ability. In particular, the chapter examines the specific knowledge needed for successful performance on tests of verbal ability that focus on decoding or reading comprehension, and tests of mathematical ability that focus on solving arithmetic computation problems or arithmetic word problems.