Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

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Open Access Thesis

Keywords

African American children--Intelligence testing; Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children;

Abstract

The Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI) (Wechsler, 1967) has long been one of the most widely used instruments for the assessment of preschool children's intelligence. The recently published Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence Revised (WPPSI-R) (Wechsler, 1989) was designed to replace the WPPSI as the instrument of choice for the purposes of making classification, placement, and program evaluation decisions. Thus, data concerning the comparability of the two instruments is of particular importance to educators. This study investigated the relationship between the WPPSI and the WPPSI-R among a sample of predominantly lower socioeconomic status African American children in order to afford some estimate of the relative similarities or differences that might exist between the two instruments. Twenty-four African American children ages four and five were administered the WPPSI and the WPPSI-R in counterbalanced order. Group mean scores on the individual subtests and on the Verbal, Performance, and Full Scales of the two instruments were compared. Results indicated that scores on the WPPSI were consistently higher than were those on the WPPSI-R. Differences between the two tests were 8.3, 13.6, and 11.7 in favor of the WPPSI for the Verbal, Performance, and Full Scale IQs, respectively. Data from this study support the view that population gains in IQ scores are occurring at the lower socioeconomic strata. The practical implications of changes in IQ scores due to the re-norming of the WPPSI-R are discussed.

Year of Submission

1992

Degree Name

Specialist in Education

Department

Department of Educational Psychology, Foundations, and Leadership Studies

Department

Department of Educational Psychology and Foundations

First Advisor

Ralph S. Scott

Comments

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Date Original

1992

Object Description

1 PDF file (70 pages)

Language

en

File Format

application/pdf

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