Comparison of the WISC-R and Woodcock-Johnson tests of cognitive ability

The relationship between the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Ability (WJTCA) and Wechsler Intelligence Scale For Children-Revised (WISC-R) was investigated in a referral sample of 52 elementary aged students. The WJTCA and WISC-R provided comparable ability estimates as reflected by a .74 correlation between the respective Full Scale scores and no significant (.05 level) mean difference (WJTCA Broad Cognitive Ability mean = 97.1, WISC-R Full Scale mean = 96.8). The comparability of the WJTCA/WISC-R global ability estimates is contrary to lower WJTCA scores found in recent studies with learning disabled students, with the current findings supporting the criticism of those studies as advanced by the author of the WJTCA.