wide range intelligence test reliability and validity

Such academic screening methods have been employed in studies on children with autism spectrum disorder ( Luiselli, Campbell, Cannon, Dipietro, Ellis, Taras, et al., 2001), low birth-weight ( O’Keeffe, O’Callaghan, Williams, Najman, & Bor, 2003), sleep disorders ( Bourke, Anderson, Yang, Jackman, Killedar, Nixon, et al., 2011), Huntington’s disease ( O’Rourke, Adams, Duff, Byars, Nopoulos, Paulsen, et al., 2011), cognitive impairment ( Ahl, Beiser, Seshadri, Auerbach, Wolf, & Au, 2013), epilepsy ( Berg, Caplan, Baca, & Vickrey, 2013), heavy prenatal alcohol exposure ( Crocker, Riley, & Mattson, 2015), and children who have been abused ( Mills, Alati, O’Callaghan, Najman, Williams, Bor, et al., 2011). In developmental disorders, academic screening tests like the Wide Range Achievement Test (WRAT Jastak, 1946 Jastak & Jastak, 1965, 1976, 1978 Jastak & Wilkinson, 1984 Wilkinson, 1993) are commonly used as a basic index of academic proficiency, which is especially important in terms of calibrating demographic comparisons between those with developmental disorder and typically developing controls. The standard neuropsychological battery for individuals 6 years and older commonly employs some screening measure of academic achievement ( Lezak, Howieson, Bigler, & Tranel, 2012).

Results indicated that for research involving individuals with autism spectrum disorder with a full scale intelligence quotient above 75, the WRAT–3 Spelling and Arithmetic subtests have acceptable test-retest stability over time and the Reading subtest has moderate test-retest stability over time. Age at time of administration, time between administrations, and test form did not significantly influence test-retest stability. Test-retest stability for all three subtests remained consistent across administration periods ( M=31.8mo., SD=4.1).

Participants ( N=31) were males ages 6–22years ( M=15.2, SD=4.0) who were part of a larger ongoing longitudinal study of brain development in children and adults with autism spectrum disorder ( N=185). The principal goal of this descriptive study was to establish the test-retest stability of the Reading, Spelling, and Arithmetic subtest scores of the Wide Range Achievement Test (WRAT–3) across two administrations in individuals with autism spectrum disorder.

Wide range intelligence test reliability and validity