A comparative analysis of WISC-III and SB-IV profiles for Black and White students referred for learning problems
Abstract
School Psychologists utilize intelligence tests to assist in the identification of handicapping conditions, such as mental retardation and specific learning disabilities. These instruments are continuously revised and renormed on more current population samples. When intelligence tests are renormed, lower IQ scores may result in the misclassification of children. Students who previously identified to be slow learners, may obtain IQ scores within the mentally retarded range. Since the introduction of the WISC-III, psychologists have incorporated this instrument in evaluation procedures. Current research suggests score patterns which appear significantly lower on the WISC-III, when compared to previous WISC-R scores. The purpose of this study was to investigate differences in IQ scores on the WISC-III and SB-IV, within a sample of Black and White public school students. The subjects in this study consisted of 60 children, who were referred for a psychoeducational evaluation in the Metro-Nashville Davidson County Public Schools, during the 1992-93 and 1993-94 school years. This study found that significant differences regarding race were present when score differences on the WISC-III and SB-IV were compared. There were no significant differences found regarding gender, when the two instruments were analyzed by a 2 x 2 Anova. These findings suggest that Black students display greater mean score differences than White students on these two instruments. Limits to this study include a restricted sample of subjects, of primarily lower socio-economic status. The race of the examiner was not controlled and treatment effects cannot be discounted.
Subject Area
Educational psychology|Psychological tests|Minority & ethnic groups|Sociology|African Americans|Educational evaluation|Special education
Recommended Citation
Gary Wayne Cozart,
"A comparative analysis of WISC-III and SB-IV profiles for Black and White students referred for learning problems"
(1995).
ETD Collection for Tennessee State University.
Paper AAI9812069.
https://digitalscholarship.tnstate.edu/dissertations/AAI9812069