Leon Dappen

DIFFERENTIAL VALIDITY OF THE WISC-R FOR BOYS AND GIRLS REFERRED FOR PSYCHOLOGICAL SERVICES

WISC-R correlations with Reading, Spelling, and Arithmetic achievement were compared for 145 males and 69 females referred by regular classroom teachers for school psychological services. Although correlations were smaller than are typically found due to restriction of range, no significant differences occurred across sex in the magnitudes of WISC-R/achievement correlations.

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.

Factorial validity of the 1976 edition of the metropolitan readiness tests for males and females

The 1976 edition of the Metropolitan Readiness Tests was factor analyzed from the responses of 408 beginning first graders. A single General Readiness factor, consistent with prior research, best described the battery of eight subtests. This factor was found to be invariant across sex when separate analyses for males and for females were compared. The coefficient of congruence for the general factor across sex was .98, and the salient variable similarity index reached a value of 1.00.

CRITERION-RELATED VALIDITY OF THREE COMMON PRESCHOOL ASSESSMENT INSTRUMENTS FOR BOYS AND GIRLS

Pearson correlations of scores on two instruments for preschool assessment with first-grade achievement scores taken 2 yr. later were compared across sex for 44 boys and 45 girls seen initially at Kindergarten entry. Correlations between WPPSI IQs and scores from concurrently administered WRAT subtests were compared across sex for 30 boys and 30 girls referred by regular classroom teachers for school psychological services. Lack of significant differences in the comparisons supports these instruments as equally valid predictors of achievement for boys and girls.