WISC-R and K-ABC comparison for matched samples of black and white children

The present study examined the performance of matched pairs of black and white fourth and fifth grade males and females on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) and the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC). A total of 86 whites (40 males and 46 females) and 86 blacks (40 males and 46 females) were individually matched on age, gender, school, and socioeconomic status. The scores are as follows: the mean WISC-R Full Scale IQ (FSIQ) for blacks was 92.3 (SD=11.6) and for whites was 101.3 (SD=11.6) and the mean K-ABC Mental Processing Composite score (MPC) for blacks was 91.5 (SD=10.1) and for whites was 97.5 (SD=10.6). These findings suggest that black children will likely earn very similar WISC-R FSIQ and K-ABC MPC mean scores. Additionally, Kaufman and Kaufman's conclusion that use of the K-ABC reduces the difference between black and white levels of intelligence by one half in comparison with values found using the WISC-R was not supported.     

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.     

Joint factor analysis of the K-ABC and WISC-R with normal children

This study investigated the factor structure of the WISC-R and K-ABC for a group of 212 normal children who were tested on both instruments in counterbalanced fashion. Separate factor analyses and a joint analysis consistently produced three factors. The various analyses led to the conclusion that there is a clear-cut correspondence between the WISC-R and K-ABC factors. WISC-R Verbal Comprehension corresponded closely to K-ABC Achievement; WISC-R Perceptual Organization resembled K-ABC Simultaneous Processing; and WISC-R Freedom From Distractibility was similar to K-ABC Sequential Processing. The g factors from both instruments also correlated substantially.     

Comparison of black-white differences on the WISC-R and the K-ABC: Spearman's hypothesis

The Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC) and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revise (WISC-R) are compared with respect to the magnitudes of the average white-black differences in standardized scaled scores and in raw scores. The two test batteries were administered to a sample of 172 fourth- and fifth-grade children comprising 86 black-white pairs matched on age, sex, school, and socioeconomic status. The K-ABC and WISC-R are highly correlated, and the general factor, or g, of one battery is virtually identical to the g of the other. The high positive correlation between the size of the white-black difference on the various subtests of both batteries and the subtests' loadings on the g factor bears out Spearman's hypothesis that a test's white-black dicriminability is a direct function of the test's g loading. The lesser white-black discriminability of the K-ABC relative to the WISC-R is attributable to (1) the smaller g loadings of the K-ABC subsets and (2) the presence of other factors, particularly sequential short-term memory which, to some degree, offsets the white-black difference in g.     

Differential construct validity of intelligence as popularly measured: Correlations of age with raw scores on the WISC-R for Blacks Whites, males, and females

Raw scores on the 12 WISC-R subtests and the verbal, performance, and full scale IQ scales were correlated with age in years separately for 938 White males, 137 Black males, 927 White females, and 153 Black females. Highest and lowest correlations from the four groups were then contrasted for each of the 15 WISC-R variables to determine whether the magnitude of the relationship between age and performance on current tests of intelligence is constant across race and sex. Regression coefficients between age and raw scores were also contrasted across groups. None of the 15 comparisons of corrections yielded differences that were statistically significant. Regression coefficients differed only with respect to the Full Scale IQ, showing smaller incremental changes with age for Black males than for other groups. The results indicated that the relationship between age and intelligence test performance is relatively constant across race and sex and supports the construct validity of the WISC-R as a measure of children's intelligence for Blacks, Whites, males, and females, though some evidence was found to indicate slower development of “g” in Black males as compared to the other groups.     

Factor analysis of the wisc-r and the wrat with a referral population

Scores on the WISC-R and the WRAT from a referral sample of 250 children, ages 6 through 11, were factor analyzed using a principal factor method with varimax rotation. Results offered support for interpretation of WISC-R scores in terms of Verbal and Performance scales, and for interpretation of WRAT scores as a separate achievement factor. The contention that achievement and intelligence tests measure identical constructs is challenged.     

简评认知神经科学取向的智力观

随着认知神经科学与生物技术的发展,现当代智力理论的构建明显地受到其影响。这些智力理论被称之为认知神经科学取向的智力观,如Garlick的神经可塑性模型;Das等人根据Luria的神经模型提出的智力PASS模型;Kaufman提出的儿童评估成套测验（K-ABC）;Ceci的生物-生态学智力模型及Perkins的真智力理论等。这些智力观都直接将认知神经过程或神经生物学的某些研究成果融合于其理论模型之中。认知神经科学取向的智力观为智力研究提供了新的研究视角和思考维度,但同时也可能面临某种发展困境。第二代认知科学的具身认知思想可能是解决传统身-心争论的有效途径。     

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.     

Report on Shanghai norms for the Chinese translation of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised

The Chinese translation of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children--Revised (WISC-RC) was administered to 660 children (ages 6 through 16 yr.) in the city of Shanghai. The obtained norms represent children's intelligence levels in big cities where the economic and cultural development is advanced. The norms are reported as "Scaled Score Equivalents of Raw Scores" for each age group and as "IQ Equivalents of Sums of Scaled Scores." The reliability and validity of the norms indicate that the WISC-R is suitable for use with school-age children in China. The difference between the results for our Shanghai sample (WISC-RCs) and a USA sample (WISC-R) is also discussed.     

Adaptive behavior of retarded,slow-learner,and average intelligence children

Scores on the WISC-R and the AAMD Adaptive Behavior Scale, Part I, Public School Version, were obtained for 94 elementary school children referred for psychological services in a southeastern rural area. Some of the adaptive behavior scores differentiated among children classified as EMR, slow-learners, or average intelligence. Some of the domain subscores of the ABS seem of questionable validity and reliability.     

A comparison of methods for calculating a severe discrepancy

Given the substantial rise in the number of students identified as learning-disabled, increasing attention has centered on methods for determining a severe discrepancy between ability and achievement. Using scores from 86 learning disabilities referrals, we compared four such methods (a z-score discrepancy, an estimated true score discrepancy, an unadjusted regression procedure, and an adjusted regression procedure). Each student was evaluated with the WISC-R, PIAT, and K-ABC. A high degree of agreement was found between z-score and estimated true score difference approaches. Less agreement was found between the unadjusted regression procedure and the other methods. It was concluded that the four methods cannot be used interchangeably in the calculation of severe discrepancies. Of the four methods that were analyzed, the unadjusted regression procedure selected the smallest percentage of students.     

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.     

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).     

Confirmatory analysis of simultaneous,sequential, and achievement factors on the K-ABC at 11 age levels ranging from 212 to 1212 years

The K-ABC is a recently published measure of children's intelligence based on a theoretical model of information processing. Exploratory factor analyses conducted during the scale's development supported the underlying theoretical model of sequential, simultaneous, and achievement factors. Confirmatory analysis using a Jöreskog method was carried out in the present investigation and completely supported the two-factor processing model. When the achievement measures were included, the two mental processing factors again clearly emerged, along with a third factor defined by the achievement scale subtests, but they did not fit an independent three-factor model.     

Performance of a referred sample on the Stanford-Binet IV and the K-ABC

The Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale: Fourth Edition (SBIV) and the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC) were administered to a sample of 40 referred children. Since both scales were purportedly designed to measure the theoretical view of intelligence proposed by Horn and Cattell (i.e., fluid and crystallized ability) it was deemed appropriate to evaluate the degree to which the subscales of the instruments were related. Correlation coefficients computed between the two tests were strong, suggesting consistency in the underlying global construct being measured; however, no compelling evidence supporting the theoretical structure of the two scales was apparent, raising questions as to the feasibility of using the fluid-crystallized model to describe subscale differences.     

Meta-Analysis of the Validation Studies of the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children

A meta-analysis of the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC) was conducted to ascertain the numbers of factors in the mental processing subtest of the K-ABC. After a summary and synthesis of the psychometric literature, a pooled correlation matrix was computed and a factor analysis applied. Two and 3-factor extraction (rotated by varimax) methods using principal axis factor analysis and principal component analysis consistently yielded 2 factors-namely, sequential and simultaneous processing. The results suggest that the original K-ABC theory was not supported.     

Stability of the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children for a sample of Mexican-American children

Test-retest stability of the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC) was investigated over a 5$\text{1}\text{2}$-month interval for 42 Mexican-American preschool/kindergarten children. The results indicated that the stability coefficients for K-ABC Global scales and subtests were generally of adequate magnitudes (e.g., .70s and .80s), providing some evidence that the K-ABC is a relatively stable instrument for the sample. The results are discussed in the context of a test-retest study reported in the K-ABC Manual. Global scale stability coefficients were found to range from .76 to .90, and for the subtests the coefficients ranged from .26 to .89. The patterns of gain scores were very similar to the patterns reported in the stability investigation in the K-ABC Manual.     

Regression analyses of bias on the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children

The Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC) has been touted in the popular press and the publisher's advertising as a nonbiased measure of children's intellectual functioning. The claims are based substantially on a reduction of the mean differences in overall test performance between blacks and whites on the K-ABC. However, mean differences are the most often rejected indicators of test bias by most serious psychometricians, and while the issue of bias is complex and requires multiple approaches, one necessary test of bias requires a comparison of the predictive validity of the scale for blacks and for whites. The present study reports on the results of an investigation of the criterion-related validity of the K-ABC, predicting reading comprehension, arithmetic, and general achievement, for large samples of blacks and whites tested during the standardization of the battery. The statistical technique of Potthoff is used to test for bias under the regression definition of Cleary. The results are reported separately for several age groups. The Sequential and Mental Processing Composite scales tended to overpredict black children's academic levels, especially on the K-ABC achievement scales. Some differences also occurred with the Simultaneous Processing scale but with less frequency.