1. A N A NALYSIS OF T HREE C OGNITIVE A BILITIES A SSESSMENTS FREQUENTLY USED IN E VALUATING S CHOOL - AGE C HILDREN November 11, 2014

2. The Three Cognitive Assessments Analyzed  Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-IV (WISC-IV)  The WISC-IV is an individually administered intelligence test.  Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Ability-III (WJ III Cog)  The WJ III Cog is an individually administered intelligence test.  Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children – 2 nd Edition (KABD-II) The KABC-II is an individually administered measure of processing and cognitive abilities.

3.  Developed by: David Weschler at Bellvue Hospital (1949); latest revision in 2003  Targeted Population: Ages 6 - 16  Administration Time: 45 – 90 Minutes (preferably in one session)  Administration Type: Individual  Reliability: Using split-half method internal reliability for subtests range from.79-.90  Formats: 15 subtests (verbal, perceptual reasoning, working memory and processing speed  Scoring:  Calculate chronological age  Raw scores for each test converted to scaled score using age– based norms (mean=10,SD=3)  Scaled scores for 10 core test are summed to yield composite Full Scale IQ score (mean=100, SD=15)  Range of standard score 40-160  Percentile rank and IQ/Index Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-IV (WISC-IV): Overview

4. Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-IV (WISC-IV): Description  Most widely used intelligence assessment tool for school- age children in school setting  Full Scale IQ Test designed to measure intellectual functioning in four specific cognitive domains: Verbal, Perceptual Reasoning, Working Memory and Processing Speed  Useful in differential diagnosis (mild mental retardation vs. low average functioning) and understanding a child’s academic weaknesses  Clinical tool for diagnosing ADHD and learning disabilities

5. Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-IV (WISC-IV): Research (Watkins & Smith, 2013)  Purpose: Investigate the long-term stability of the WISC-IV  Method: A sample of 344 students from two school districts that had been evaluated twice for special education eligibility at an average interval of 2.84 years.  Instruments: Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-IV ~ ten core subtests and five supplementary subtests with standard score means of 10 and standard deviations of 3  Results: The test-retest reliability coefficients for the subtests were generally lower than the index scores. On average, the subtest scores did not differ by more than one point and index scores did not differ by more than two points. However, 25% of the students earned Full-scale IQ scores that differed by 10 or more points.

6. Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-IV (WISC-IV): Research (Watkins, 2011)  Purpose: To study the structure of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children— Fourth Edition (WISC–IV; D. Wechsler, 2003a) was analyzed via confirmatory factor analysis among a national sample of 355 students referred for psychoeducational evaluation by 93 school psychologists from 34 states.  Method: Participants included 355 students (218 male and 137 female) who ranged in age from 6 to 16 years ( M = 9.78 years, SD = 2.54). Grade placement ranged from kindergarten to Grade 11, with a median of fourth grade. Ethnic background of participants, if reported, was 62.7% White, 20.6% Black, 12.3% Hispanic, 2.4% Asian/Pacific Islander, and 2.0% other.  Instruments: The WISC–IV is standardized on a nationally representative sample of 2,200 children aged 6–16 years closely approximating the 2000 U.S. Census on sex, race, parent education level, and geographic region. The WISC–IV core battery contains 10 core subtests ( M = 10, SD = 3) that form the four (VC, PR, WM, and PS) factor indices ( M = 100, SD = 15)  Results: Participants' mean WISC–IV subtest, factor, and IQ scores were slightly lower and somewhat more variable than the normative sample. Similar patterns have been found with other samples of referred students ( Canivez & Watkins, 1998). Nevertheless, score distributions appeared to be relatively normal, with.51 the largest skew and.89 the largest kurtosis.

7. Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Ability- III (WJ III Cog): Overview  Developed by: Richard Woodcock & Mary E. Bonner Johnson (1977); Latest revision 2001  Targeted Population: Ages 2 – 90  Administration Time: 5 Minutes per test  Administration Type: Individual  Reliability: majority of tests =.80 or higher; several test =.90 or higher  Formats: 20 Tests: Standard Battery 1-10; Extended Battery 11-20  Scoring: Each test yields a raw score Raw score is converted to derived score Range of standard score: 0-200 Developmental level scores: age & grade equivalent Percentile Rank, standard score, T-score, Normal cure equivalent, Stanine, CALP

8. Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Ability- III (WJ III Cog): Description  Measures general intellectual ability, broad/narrow cognitive ability and aspects of executive functioning  The WJ-III is an individually administered measure of cognitive ability and academic achievement that contains 20 cognitive subtests and 22 achievement subtests.  The WJ-III also yields a general intellectual ability score reflective of g.  The WJ III is commonly used to examine profiles of strengths and weaknesses across cognitive and academic tasks, and scores that fall below age- and grade-level expectations are typically viewed as evidence of deficits.

9. Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Ability-III (WJ III Cog): Research (Dombrowski & Watkins, 2013)  Purpose: To evaluate the structure of the WJ-III full battery (cognitive and achievement) using best practice EFA procedures on the two normative sample correlation matrices (for ages 9 to 13 and 14 to 19) that span the school-aged time period.  Method: Researchers used two school-aged (9 to 13 years and 14 to 19 years) subtest correlation matrices (42 × 42) obtained from the Technical Manual. The 9 to 13 age range contained an average of 1,572 participants while the 14 to 19 age range contained an average of 1,299 participants.  Instruments: Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Ability-III ~ 20 cognitive subtests and 22 achievement subtests  Results:  Exploratory (First-Order) Analyses: Sphericity for both analyses indicated that the correlation matrices were not random. Measures of sampling adequacy for each variable were also within reasonable limits. Thus, the correlation matrices were appropriate for factor analysis.  Factor Extraction: Parallel analysis suggested that six factors be retained for the 9 to 13 age range and five factors for the 14 to 19 age range.

10. Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Ability-III (WJ III Cog): Research (Benson & Taub, 2013)  Purpose: Test the invariance of scores derived from the Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Cognitive Ability (WJ III COG) and Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Academic Achievement (WJ III ACH) across a group of students diagnosed with learning disorders and a matched sample of students without known clinical diagnoses.  Method: Researchers utilized participants drawn from the Woodcock-Munoz Foundation Clinical Database Project (CDB) as well as the WJ-III United States standardization sample.  Instruments: Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Ability-III ~ 20 cognitive subtests and 22 achievement subtests  Results:  The results of this study support the conclusion that the WJ III measures similar, but not identical, constructs for children who have and have not been diagnosed with a learning disorder.  Results suggest that WJ III tests define the same factors and are calibrated in a similar way across both samples.

11. Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children – 2 nd Edition (KABD-II): Overview  Developed by: Alan S. Kaufman & Nadeen L. Kaufman (1983) ; Revised in 2004  Targeted Population: Ages 3 - 18  Administration Time: Luria Model (25-60 minutes); CHC Model (30-75 minutes)  Administration Type: Individual  Median Reliability: age 3-6 =.85 (range.69-.92)  age 7-18 =.87 (range.74-.93)  Formats: 18 Subtests (Core & Supplemental)  Two Approaches:  Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) ~ 5 Scales  Lunia Perspective ~ 4 Scales  Scoring:  Three step process  Each subtest is scored  Scaled score range from 1-19  Sum of scaled score subtest = Scale Indexes  Standardized Mean of 100; Standard Deviation of 15

12. Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children – 2 nd Edition (KABD-II): Description  Measures processing and cognitive abilities of children and adolescents age 3-18  The KABC-II focuses on the processes needed to solve problems rather than their content  It was the first intelligence test to be principally derived from strong theoretical basis and the first intelligence test to be based in neuropsychological theory.  The KABC-II is particularly useful when assessing children of different ethnicities.

13. Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children – 2 nd Edition (KABC-II): Research (Morgan, Rothlisberg, McIntosh & Hunt)  Purpose: To assess the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children, Second Edition (KABCII) in relation to the synthesized Cattell–Horn– Carroll (CHC) theory of intelligence with a preschool sample.  Method: The participants consisted of 200 preschool children (103 girls, 97 boys) who ranged in age from 4 years, 0 months to 5 years, 11 months. They were obtained from preschool facilities near a mid-sized city in the Midwest. Children who were receiving special education services were excluded from this study.  Instruments: The KABC-II is a newly revised measure of cognitive abilities for children and adolescents aged 3–18. This measure is grounded in both the Lurian/Das and the CHC theoretical models.  Results: Mean scores on the KABC-II for the preschoolers fell within the average range, which was expected given that this group participated in a general education curriculum. Children who received special education services were excluded from this study.

14. Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children – 2 nd Edition (KABC-II): Research (Dale, McIntosh, Rothlisberg, Ward & Bradley, 2011 )  Purpose: To investigate the interpretability of the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children, Second Edition (KABC‐II), in terms of the Cattell‐Horn‐Carroll (CHC) theory among ethnically diverse preschool children.  Method: Forty-nine African American and 49Caucasian preschool children from a Midwestern city were included in the study and were matched for age, sex, and level of parental education. The preschoolers who participated in the project were a sample of convenience, obtained from preschools and daycare centers located in a midsized city in the Midwest  Instruments: The KABC-II assessment was used to evaluate and measure cognitive abilities of the preschool children. The CHC model is the preferred model of interpretation (Lichtenberger & Kaufman, 2007) and was utilized for this study.  Results: The profile analysis examining CHC broad abilities showed that the African American and Caucasian preschool children had similar patterns of highs and lows and performed at the same level with no significant difference between the two groups in their overall mean IQ. Profile analysis of the KABC-II subtests found that although the African American and Caucasian groups performed overall at a similar level, they did not show the same pattern of highs and lows in subtest performance

15. References  Benson, N., & Taub, G. E. (2013). Invariance of Woodcock-Johnson III scores for students with learning disorders and students without learning disorders. School Psychology Quarterly, 28(3), 256-272.  Dale, B. A., McIntosh, D. E., Rothlisberg, B. A., Ward, K. E., & Bradley, M. H. (2011). Profile analysis of the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children, Second Edition, with African American and Caucasian preschool children. Psychology In The Schools, 48(5), 476-487.  Dombrowski, S. C., & Watkins, M. W. (2013). Exploratory and higher order factor analysis of the WJ-III full test battery: A school-aged analysis. Psychological Assessment, 25(2), 442-455.  Morgan, K. E., Rothlisberg, B. A., McIntosh, D. E., & Hunt, M. S. (2009). Confirmatory factor analysis of the KABC-II in preschool children. Psychology In The Schools, 46(6), 515-526.  Watkins, M. W. (2010). Structure of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children—Fourth Edition among a national sample of referred students. Psychological Assessment, 22(4), 782-787.  Watkins, M. W., & Smith, L. G. (2013). Long-term stability of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children—Fourth Edition. Psychological Assessment, 25(2), 477-483.