Factor structure of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised,Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test,and Peabody Individual Achievement Test in a psychiatric sample

This study analyzed the factor structure of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R), the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT), and the Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT) in a psychiatric sample that ranged in age from 6 to 16 years (mean age = 11.1 years; SD = 3.0). The resultant factor structure of this sample was compared with patterns reported on normal and learning-disabled children. The subjects were 329 children under inpatient and outpatient care who had been referred for emotional disturbances. The results were similar to previous factor analytic studies of the WISC-R and PIAT, showing four factors: Verbal Comprehension, Verbal Achievement, Perceptual Organization, and Number Facility. The implications for the interpretation of these tests in a psychiatric sample and the appropriateness of a maximum likelihood technique in analysis of psychometric data are discussed.     

Related factors of the MTAI and the 16PF

The Minnesota Teacher Attitude Inventory (MTAI) and the Sixteen Personality Factors Questionnaire (16PF) were administered to 395 undergraduate teachers-in-training. The MTAI and the 16PF were compared using canonical analysis. They contained three related factors accounting for 41% of their total variance. It was concluded that teachers' attitudes toward their pupils are determined in large part by measurable personality traits.     

A comparison of the WISC information and arithmetic subtests with a multiple choice procedure using kindergarten,first-, and second-grade children

Fifty-nine children in kindergarten, first, and second grade were given the WISC information and arithmetic subtest. Approximately three weeks later, the subjects were presented with the same questions, and four multiple choice answers were shown and read to them. The number of correct responses on each subtest for each presentation method was recorded. The multiple choice method of presentation response yielded significantly higher scaled scores than did the standard WISC presentation with the free response mode of testing.     

Technical characteristics of the peabody individual achievement test as a function of item arrangement and basal and ceiling rules

The effects that item order and basal and ceiling rules have on test means, variances, and internal consistency estimates for the PIAT mathematics and reading recognition subtests were examined. Seven items on the math subtest and one item on the reading recognition subtest were significantly easier or harder than their test placement indicated. The use of basal and ceiling rules had a pronounced effect on the means, variances, and reliabilities on the multiple choice math subtest, while the rules' effects on the reading recognition subtests were minor. Item order also affected scores on the math subtest.