Comparison of Intelligence Tests

Abstract

The relationship among the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R), the British Ability Scales (BAS), and the StanfordBinet Intelligence Test (4th edn) (S-B, 4th) was investigated for thirty-eight gifted children. Composite or overall scale scores among the three tests were significantly related; coefficients ranged from 0.40 to 0.66. Also, when meandifferences on a common scale were analysed, the WISC-R FSIQ mean was significantly higher than the means from the BAS and S-B composite scores, which were not significantly different from each other. The BAS and the S-B seem to be more related to each other than either are to the WISC-R, although the reduced relationship between the WISC-R and the other two tests may be due in part to statistical and procedural artifacts. The high degree of similarity among the three tests, and particularly between the BAS and S-B (4th), indicates that similar constructs are being assessed to a similar extent by instruments designed for two different cultures. Apparently the essence of intelligence is described in a similar way in the United States and in the British Isles.

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