Pedro Antonio Sánchez Escobedo

Annotations on the Use of the Mexican Norms for the WAIS-III

This article provides crucial information to judge the appropriateness of the Mexican version of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Third Edition and recognizes some limitations in both the process of its adaptation to the Mexican population and the norm development process. This is an effort to contribute to the debate initiated by Suen and Greenspan (2008), who argued in court against the use of Mexican norms in a death penalty case, which depended upon establishing the diagnosis of mental retardation. As a part of the defense team, these scholars argued a number of points against the use of the Mexican norms. With input from the lead researcher on the Mexican standardization process, some of the criticisms are addressed, and further information about the norm development process for this test in Mexico is provided in an attempt to be critical about the strengths and weaknesses of the use of existing Mexican norms. Finally, we argue that results from a single test must not be used to make life and death decisions and that test development is a continuous process influenced by culture, language, and indeed by norm-developing procedures and debates.

Gender differences in self-concept, locus of control, and goal orientation in Mexican high-achieving students

ABSTRACT The study compares self-concept, locus of control, and goal orientation characteristics of male and female Mexican high school high-achieving students. Three scales were administered to 220 students; 106 (49%) were males and 114 (51%) females. By means of a discriminant analysis, both groups were compared in relation to the variables such as social self-concept, academic self-concept, achievement motivation toward study, and attributions regarding academic success or failure. It was found that female students have a better academic self-concept and a higher achievement motivation than males. Findings are consistent with previous studies in Mexico that provide evidence of females having greater emotional resources associated with school success.

Methods and Procedures in Screening Gifted Mayan Students

AbstractInstruments, procedures, and criteria for the screening of Mayan students in Yucatan, Mexico are depicted and evaluated by analyzing the results of their use on 242 students in five different regions of Yucatan. These 242, 8th grade students were selected from a pool of 1,530 potentially gifted students.Participants responded to a variety of standardized and non-standardized tests and underwent an additional qualitative assessment through interviews and observations. Results of this study demonstrate diverse difficulties in screening gifted Yucatec Mayan students arising from the lack of valid and pertinent standardized tests and the lack of teachers’ understanding regarding the concept of giftedness. Of the 242 evaluated students, evaluators identified only 21 students as gifted; these students were later registered to receive eventual attention in a state project. Challenges regarding the screening, misidentification and management of gifted Mayan students are discussed in light of this experience..Abstract Instruments, procedures, and criteria for the screening of Mayan students in Yucatan, Mexico are depicted and evaluated by analyzing the results of their use on 242 students in five different regions of Yucatan. These 242, 8th grade students were selected from a pool of 1,530 potentially gifted students. Participants responded to a variety of standardized and non-standardized tests and underwent an additional qualitative assessment through interviews and observations. Results of this study demonstrate diverse difficulties in screening gifted Yucatec Mayan students arising from the lack of valid and pertinent standardized tests and the lack of teachers’ understanding regarding the concept of giftedness. Of the 242 evaluated students, evaluators identified only 21 students as gifted; these students were later registered to receive eventual attention in a state project. Challenges regarding the screening, misidentification and management of gifted Mayan students are discussed in light of this experience..