Assessment of specific learning disabilities (SLD) in educational settings is one important function of a school psychologist. The federal definition of SLD describes "underlying cognitive processing deficits" as part of the assessment criteria, that is also incorporated in several states' SLD eligibility criteria, that is difficult to…

Building on a recent work of Harrison, Armstrong, Harrison, Iverson and Lange which suggested that Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Fourth Edition (WAIS-IV) scores might systematically overestimate the severity of intellectual impairments if Canadian norms are used, the present study examined differences between Canadian and American derived…

Because of the Flynn effect, IQ scores rise as a test norm ages but drop on the introduction of a newly revised test norm. The purpose of the current study was to determine the impact of the Flynn effect on learning disability (LD) diagnoses, the most prevalent special education diagnosis in the United States. Using a longitudinal sample of 875…

The assessment of cognitive ability in students with the most severe disabilities presents a challenge to the clinicians who are charged with this task. This article is the second of a two-part series that summarizes what is currently known about effective assessment of the cognitive ability of students with significant impairments in order to…

Administered Woodcock Language Proficiency Battery (WLPB) to 18 learning-disabled adolescents from culturally variant population in rural southern Louisiana and to matched group of normal achievers. Found group status to have significant effect on cluster scores. Results suggest that WLPB may be useful for culturally diverse students when…

The Woodcock Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery (Revised) is reviewed in regard to its application with learning-disabled (LD) adults. Strengths of the revised test are identified as are concerns about the low representation of LD adults in the normative sample and the complex interpretation process. (DB)

The study presents normative data on Masking Level Difference (an improvement of the auditory processing of interaural time/intensity differences between signals and masking noises) for 90 learning disabled persons (4-35 years old). It was concluded that the MLD may quickly screen for auditory processing problems. (CL)

The study evaluated the Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery (WJPEB) with 71 elementary grade learning disabled (LD) students. The following questions were addressed: (1) Are there significant discrepancies between ability and achievement, as measured by the WJPEB, for LD children, and if so, in what academic areas? (2) Are there patterns…

The Slosson Intelligence Test (revised norms) (SIT) and the WISC-R (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised) were compared. Results provide a moderate degree of support for the concurrent validity of the revised SIT norms, using the WISC-R as the criterion. However, the intelligence quotients on the two tests may not be interchangeable.…

Three studies were designed to explore the pattern of scores on the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC) by 18 students in elementary level learning disability (LD) resource programs (Study 1), 133 elementary level students referred for learning problems (Study 2), and 67 elementary students referred for severe learning disabilities…

Indices of scatter on the WISC-R and McCarthy Scales were examined for 20 educable mentally retarded and 20 learning disabled children in relation to 20 matched controls and to standardization samples. Exceptional children exhibited more subtest scatter and variability than the standardization sample but not more than the control group. (Author/RD)

The Clock Drawing test was administered to 143 regular education students (grades 1-4) to determine approximate grade levels at which skill on the test may be expected and to 30 students with learning disabilities. For the regular children, scores improved most between first and second grade. The disabled children scored significantly lower than…

Past research has suggested memory, writing speed, and paired-associate learning rate to be important in WISC-R (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children Revised) coding performance. Suggested that visual perceptual factors also may be important and that coding performance in right-handed persons may be especially sensitive to integrity of the…

This critique, of Cummings and Moscato's review (TM 508 777) of the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Ability (WJTCA) argues that the WJTCA is biased toward achievement resulting in a discrepancy of scores for learning disabled students. This bias is incompatible with the aptitude/achievement discrepancy model of specific learning disabilities.…

Compared Bender-Gestalt performance of 452 Navajo children with 1974 Koppitz and System of Multicultural Pluralistic Assessment norms (SOMPA), and investigated the use of the Bender-Gestalt for diagnosing learning disabilities. Results suggested the Koppitz and SOMPA White norms may be useful in psychological assessment of Navajo children. (JAC)