The rigors of standardized testing make for numerous opportunities for examiner error, including simple computational mistakes in scoring. Although experts recommend that test scoring be double-checked, the extent to which independent double-checking would reduce scoring errors is not known. A double-checking procedure was established at a psychology training clinic in an effort to improve intelligence test scoring accuracy. The authors examined 50 archival protocols to determine the effects of independent double-checking on Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Third Edition scores. As expected, these procedures significantly changed IQ scores, increasing their accuracy. Anonymous trainee feedback supported the utility of these efforts and endorsed it as making a useful contribution to professional development. Recommendations for instituting such procedures in training settings are discussed, and a sample checklist to guide double-checking is provided.
We examined the stability of Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition (WISC-IV) scores among 51 diverse, clinically referred 8- to 16-year-olds (M(age) = 11.24 years, SD = 2.36). Children were referred to and tested at an urban, university-based training clinic; 70% of eligible children completed follow-up testing 12 months to 40 months later (M = 22.05, SD = 5.94). Stability for index scores ranged from .58 (Processing Speed) to .81 (Verbal Comprehension), with a stability of .86 for Full-Scale IQ. Subtest score stability ranged from .35 (Letter-Number Sequencing) to .81 (Vocabulary). Indexes believed to be more susceptible to concentration (Processing Speed and Working Memory) had lower stability. We also examined attention problems as a potential moderating factor of WISC-IV index and subtest score stability. Children with attention problems had significantly lower stability for Digit Span and Matrix Reasoning subtests compared with children without attention problems. These results provide support for the temporal stability of the WISC-IV and also provide some support for the idea that attention problems contribute to children producing less stable IQ estimates when completing the WISC-IV. We hope our report encourages further examination of this hypothesis and its implications.
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