Stability of Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-III Scores in children with learning disabilities

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Authors
Cummins, Tamara L.
Advisor
Gridley, Betty E.
Issue Date
2001
Keyword
Degree
Thesis (Ph. D.)
Department
Department of Educational Psychology
Other Identifiers
Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the stability of Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-III (WISC-III) test scores in children with Learning Disabilities. Previous research has suggested that some children with Learning Disabilities do not demonstrate the same stability of performance, over time, on the Wechsler as many children in the general population.The sample utilized in this study consisted of 214 children who had been identified as having Learning Disabilities. WISC-III data was collected through archival review of education files.Test-retest stability for the WISC-III over a period of approximately three years was assessed using correlational and t-test data. For the total sample, three year test-retest correlations for the Verbal IQ, Performance IQ, and Full Scale IQ were .67, .73, and .74, respectively. However, Verbal IQ, Full Scale IQ, and Verbal Index scores were observed to drop significantly between testings. Mean score differences for the Verbal IQ and Verbal Comprehension scales were slightly over three points. The mean difference for the Full Scale IQ was slightly less than two points.Analysis of individual scores indicated considerable variability, with some students decreasing as much as 30 or increasing as much as 37 IQ points at the time of retesting. Analysis of distribution of score differences suggested that the children with Learning Disabilities in this sample demonstrated more variability in performance, overall, than might be anticipated in the general population.