Comparison of WISC and WISC-R scores of referred black,white and Latino children

Seventy-two school psychologists in the tri-state area of Michigan, Illinois and Ohio administered both the WISC and WISC-R to 164 black, white and Latino children in a counterbalanced order with a specific test-retest interval of not less than a week or more than a month. These children had been referred to the school psychologist because of concerns about their intellectual ability. Significant WISC/WISC-R differences were found, with the WISC-R yielding lower results. These results have implications for test users, special education programs, and mainstreaming efforts.     

Predictive validity of the WISC-R with Mexican-American children

The reliability and predictive validity of the WISC-R was investigated with 46 Mexican-American children. Approximately a year and a half after the administration of the WISC-R, scores on the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS) were collected. Internal consistency estimates for WISC-R subtests and composites were found to be comparable to those reported in the WISC-R manual. Correlations between WISC-R subtests and those of the ITBS ranged from modest for verbal subtests to mild when performance subtests were used as predictors. The best single predictor proved to be that of Verbal IQ, which accounted for some 40% of the variance in future achievement when measured by the ITBS. It was concluded that the WISC-R meets minimum requirements of reliability and predictive validity with Mexican-American children.     

Comparison of the WISC and WISC-R on a psychiatric adolescent inpatient sample

The present study compared the WISC and WISC-R on a group of psychiatric adolescent inpatients. The results indicated high intercorrelations between the two test versions but with the correlations linearly related to the changes in content and administration rules of the WISC-R. Analyses of variance indicated that, on the basis of the Full Scale IQ, the WISC is an easier test than the WISC-R.The authors gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Ms. Kathleen Lennox for her aid in data analysis and computer programming.     

Long-term predictive validity of the WPPSI and the WISC-R with black school children

The WPPSI was administered to a group of 169 black, culturally deprived (Headstart) children prior to their entry into the first grade. Four years later, 94 of these children were tested with the WISC-R and 12 years later, 40 of the children were tested with the WAIS-R. In addition, the WRAT, ITBS, CAT, and ITED were administered in the first, fifth, eighth and eleventh grades respectively. Complete grade records were also obtained for the children for grades 1 through 11. Correlations for Full Scale IQs on the WPPSI/WISC-R, WPPSI/WAIS-R and WISC-R/WAIS-R were 0.78, 0.73 and 0.78, respectively. Highly significant correlations were obtained between Wechsler IQs and achievement test scores, overall grade point averages and grade point averages in particular subject areas across all grade levels. The results demonstrated a high degree of stability in intellectual functioning over the elementary and secondary school years and offer evidence that strongly supports the long-term validity of the WPPSI and WISC-R.     

Short form and factor-analytic studies of the WISC-R with behavior problem children

Two analyses of the WISC-R protocols of 100 children referred for behavioral problems in school were conducted to study (a) the utility of a variety of WISC short forms and (b) the factor structure of the WISC-R. Although the correlations between short form and WISC-R IQs were highly significant, mean differences and a high percentage of IQ classification changes indicated that the short forms were not acceptable WISC-R substitutes. Different factor analyses consistently evidenced two factors, Verbal Comprehension and Perceptual Organization, which corresponded perfectly to the Verbal and Performance.     

Concurrent and predictive validity of the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children with a Navajo sample

The aim of this investigation was to examine the mean scores and predictive validity coefficients obtained from the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R), the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC), and the Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT). The K-ABC and the WISC-R were administered 1 week apart in counterbalanced order to 35 Navajo children aged 6–12$\text{1}\text{2}$ years (mean 8–9 years), followed 10$\text{1}\text{2}$ months later by administration of the PIAT. The K-ABC yielded an overall mean of 95.0, which is significantly higher than the WISC-R Full Scale IQ mean of 86.9. All WISC-R and K-ABC global scores correlated significantly except the WISC-R Verbal and K-ABC Nonverbal scales. The WISC-R Verbal and Full Scale IQs and all five K-ABC scales correlated significantly with the PIAT Total Test standard scores. However, the K-ABC Achievement scale correlated significantly higher with the PIAT Total Test than with the WISC-R Verbal and Full Scale IQs. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

The differentiation hypothesis and the Flynn effect

Many studies have shown that IQs have been increasing over the last half century. These increases have come to be known as "the Flynn effect". The "Flynn effect" represents a difference on ability-level between groups of the same age but different cohort. The ability-level differentiation hypothesis represents a difference on the relevance of cognitive factors between groups of high and low ability. Hence, it should be possible to imitate the ability-level differentiation effect by comparing groups of the same age but different cohort. The indifferentiation hypothesis represents no differences on the relevance of cognitive abilities in all age groups within the same cohort. The aim of the present study is to test the relationships between these phenomena. For this purpose we analyzed the American standardisation samples of the WISC, WISC-R and WISC-III. Results support the link between the Flynn effect and the differentiation hypothesis. Also, reported evidence replicate previous findings supporting the indifferentiation hypothesis. Implications for the assessment of the intelligence are discussed.     

Attention performance in an epidemiological sample of urban children: The role of gender and verbal intelligence

Abstract

We administered a comprehensive attentional battery to an epidemiologically defined sample of 435 first-and second-grade children to assess the influence of gender and verbal intelligence on attention. The battery included three versions of the continuous performance test (CPT), two digit cancellation tasks, three subtests from the WISC-R, and the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test. The results indicated that both gender and intelligence had an impact on attentional performance. Girls performed better than boys; they made fewer errors on the CPT and obtained higher scores on the digit cancellation task and the Coding subtest of the WISC-R. Children with higher verbal intelligence also performed better on the attentional tests, but this advantage was not observed across measures or levels of performance. For example, children with limited verbal skills performed significantly worse than their peers only in measures with high processing demands (the degraded CPT and the distraction version of the digit cancellation task).     

Conceptual tempo as a moderator variable in predicting first grade achievement test scores

This study examined the utility of a set of tests for predicting the academic achievement of separate samples of impulsive and reflective first graders. The predictor tests were the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, the Columbia Mental Maturity Scale, Wepman's Auditory Discrimination Test, the ITPA Sound Blending Subtest, the WISC Digit Span Subtest, and Kaufman's WISC-R Verbal Comprehension Factor (Comprehension, Information, Similarities, and Vocabulary). The criterion measures were drawn from the Stanford Achievement Test and included scores for Total Auditory, Total Mathematics, Total Reading, Vocabulary and Listening Comprehension. Multiple regression analyses revealed that (a) for three of the five criterion variables, the optimal equations for predicting the achievement test scores differed for impulsives and reflectives, and (b) given the same predictor scores, the predicted achievement of impulsive and reflective children different considerably. It was concluded that conceptual tempo is an important moderator variable in predicting academic performance.     

The pattern of exceptionality across domains in learning disabled children

The purpose of this study was to examine the intellectual, academic and behavioral competencies in learning disabled and normally achieving children. Fifty-eight pairs of children (LD and non-LD) in first, second, and third grade were administered the WISC-R and the PIAT; were observed with the SCAN Observational System in their regular classroom; and had teachers who filled out the Classroom Behavior Inventory. Results indicated that the LD children performed l less well on the WISC-R and the PIAT. There was no evidence of greater variability within the LD children nor was there a different pattern of performance in comparison to normally achieving children. The learning disabled children were consistently rated by their classroom teachers as displaying less desirable classroom behavior. The Observational System SCAN corroborated these results, indicating that LD children were more off-task than non-LD children. These result suggest that we re-examine the definition of learning disabilities in the public scholl to put more emphasis on behavioral indices and to refocus the interpretation of test scatter as an index of learning disabilities.     

The effects of token reinforcement,feedback and response cost on standardized test performance

The primary purpose of the present study was to compare the differential effects of token reinforcement, feedback, and response cost on the test performance of delinquent boys. Eighty students were randomly assigned to three experimental groups and one control group of 20 subjects each. Each experimental group received a standard and a modified administration of the verbal section of the WISC. For the token reinforcement group, the modified WISC administration permitted students to earn tokens contingent on correct responses; the response cost group forfeited tokens contingent on incorrect responses; and the feedback group simply received information regarding the accuracy of each response. The control group received two standard WISC administrations. The primary measure was the difference in verbal I.Q. scores between the standard and modified WISC administrations. Results indicated that the token reinforcement and response cost groups achieved significantly higher scores than the feedback and control groups. No significant differences were found between the token reinforcement and response cost groups nor between the feedback and control groups. The implications of these findings for clarifying the relationship between motivational condition and test performance are discussed.     

Components of IQ Scores Across Levels of Measured Ability

Forty-three (43) students from the Talent Identification Program's Summer Residential Program living in North Carolina took the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children—Revised (WISC-R; Wechsler, 1974) during the program. The test was also administered to 50 other North Carolina Students who qualified for the SRP but did not attend, as well as 34 students who had not been identified as gifted. The scores were evaluated for normative and idiographic strengths and weaknesses on the 12 subtests of the WISC-R. The idiographic differences were calculated by comparison against the average score of only the 6 subtests in the same subscale of the test (Verbal or Performance) as well as against all 12 subtests on the test. It was found by means of the former comparisons that the gifted students showed significantly more idiographic strengths on the Verbal scales and weaknesses on the Performance scales than the academically competent sample.     

The Stability Of The Wisc Factor Structure At Three Age Levels

The WISC, Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, and Ammons' Full Range Picture Vocabulary Test were administered to a sample of 216 children three times: at pre-school, first grade, and third grade levels. The sample included 91 Negro children and 126 white children. Twenty-six variables were developed from the 11 WISC tests to form as many variables as possible so that a total of 28 variables was analyzed in the study. The variables were factor analyzed a t each level of testing and the three sets of factor scores were canonically correlated. In general, more common factors were obtained at the lower levels and a more general Verbal factor was determined at the third grade level. The battery test-retest reliability was -86.     

Token reinforcement on WISC-R performance for white,low-socioeconomic,upper and lower elementary-school-age students

The effects of token rewards on the WISC-R performance of white, first, second, fourth, and fifth grade students of low-socioeconomic-status were examined. Twenty control subjects (10 first- and second-graders, 10 fourth- and fifth-graders) were administered the IQ test according to standardized procedures. An experimental group of 20 subjects (10 first- and second-graders, 10 fourth- and fifth-graders) earned tokens immediately following each correct response on the WISC-R. Upon completion of testing, tokens were exchangeable for a variety of items costing less than $3.00. The results indicated that the experimental group scored significantly higher (mean = 108) than the control group (mean = 102). A significant difference was also found for grade level, the first- and second-graders scoring higher (mean = 107) than the fourth- and fifth-graders (mean = 102). The implications for future research are discussed.     

A secular decline in the strength of Spearman’s g in Japan

It has been found in the United States and in Scotland that the subtests of the WISC-R and WAIS-R are more highly intercorrelated among low-intelligence groups than among high. The value of the intercorrelations is a measure of the strength of Spearman’s g, and hence Spearman’s g is apparently stronger among populations with low intelligence. Since intelligence has been increasing over time, it should follow that the strength of g has shown a corresponding decline. Evidence from the standardization samples of the WISC and WISC-R in Japan shows that this is the case.     

II. The comparability of the WISC-R and WAIS among 16-year-old EMR children

Thirty 16-year-old EMR children were administered the WAIS and WISC-R in counterbalance order to determine the comparability of the two assessment instruments. The WAIS was found to yield significantly higher Verbal, Performance, and Full Scale IQ scores. The comparisons of corresponding subtests indicate that all WAIS subtests were significantly higher than the WISC-R except Picture Completion. Correlations between corresponding WAIS and WISC-R IQ scales and subtests, however, were significant. The results suggest differences between the two instruments among children of subnormal intelligence, thus presenting the possibility that a child may be differentially classified based on the selection of the intelligence test.     

Effect of a novel experience prior to training or testing on retention of an inhibitory avoidance response in mice: involvement of an opioid system

These experiments examined the effects of a novel experience prior to training or retention testing on 24-h retention of an inhibitory avoidance response in mice. The experiments were based on previous evidence that novel training experiences release hypothalamic beta-endorphin. When given 1 h prior to training, the novel experience (clinging to the wire-mesh ceiling and exploring a small box) attenuated the memory-enhancing effects of post-training administration of naloxone as well as the enhancing effects of beta-endorphin administered prior to the retention test. The novel experience given prior to training did not block the enhancing effects of post-training administration of epinephrine. beta-Endorphin and the novel experience both enhanced retention performance when administered 1 h (as well as 3 but not 6 h) prior to the retention test. The enhancement found with both treatments was blocked by simultaneous administration of naloxone or by administration of propranolol a few minutes prior to the retention test. The findings of these experiments are consistent with the view that the effects of the novel experience are due to a release of endogenous beta-endorphin and provide additional evidence that the effects, on retention, of naloxone given post-training and beta-endorphin given prior to a retention test, are based on training-induced release of beta-endorphin.     

Analysis of the piat with Anglo and Mexican-American children

This study analyzed the utility of the PIAT when administered to separate samples of Anglo and Mexican-American children using the WRAT and WISC-R as comparative measures. Thirty-one Mexican-American and 31 Anglo-American children were matched on the basis of sex, age, SES, educational placement, and reason referred for psychological assessment. All children were administered the PIAT, WRAT, and WISC-R. Partial intercorrelations (CA held constant) among the PIAT subtest raw scores and subtests of the WRAT purporting to measure the same construct were performed. Adequate concurrent validity was found for the PIAT Mathematics, Spelling, and Reading Recognition subtests for both Anglo and Mexican-American children. Analysis of subtest means and concurrent validity between ethnic groups showed general equivalence with the exception of WISC-R Verbal IQ means, which was significantly lower for the Mexican-American group. Implications for assessing Mexican-American children are discussed.