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Psychology
in
the
Schools
Volume
20.
April,
1983
THE SEDUCTIVE NATURE OF WISC-R SHORT FORMS:
AN ANALYSIS WITH GIFTED REFERRALS
JACK
J.
KRAMER KAY SHANKS
University
of
Oklahoma
ROBERT
P.
MARKLEY
Fort
Hays State University
Central Kansas Cooperative in Education
JAMES E. RYABIK
Fori
Hays
Stare
University
The use of a short form
of
the WISC (California Abbreviated
WISC
for
the Intellec-
tually Gifted) (CAW-IG) developed for screening gifted referrals was investigated
with the WISC-R. Two methods were used to estimate
IQ.
and the results indicated
that the short form could be effective in the prediction
of
Full
Scale
IQ.
This was true
even when the prediction was based on data from the original WISC. Discussion
centered on the implications
of
these results
for
the use
of
shortened
IQ
tests.
A
number
of
problems were examined, and practitioners are cautioned against in-
discriminate use
of
such procedures.
In order to save time during the evaluation process, short forms of standardized in-
telligence tests often have been utilized. Abbreviated versions of the WISC(-R) have been
used with a variety of populations including: emotionally disturbed children (Yudin,
1966), mentally retarded and brain injured children (Reid, Moore,
&
Alexander, 1968),
and clinic referrals (Ryan, 1981). Recent interest
in
gifted programming has resulted
in
attempts to evaluate various short forms of the WISC-R for use in gifted screenings
(Dirks, Wessels, Quenon,
&
Quarforth, 1980 Karnes
&
Barnes, 1981; Killian
&
Hughes,
1978). Previously, Thompson and Finley (1963) suggested the use of a short form of the
WISC
(S,
I,
PA, BD, PC) for screening gifted referrals. They later published their short
form (Finley
&
Thompson, 1966) as the California Abbreviated WISC for the Intellec-
tually Gifted Child (CAW-IG).
The present study was undertaken
in
order to evaluate the results of a school dis-
trict's use of the CAW-IG in conjunction with the WISC-R. Although Bersoff (1971)
called for a moratorium on short form research over a decade ago, short forms are being
advocated, and, as this project indicates, they are being used. While it is true that short
forms may constitute only a small part of the total evaluation, their use invites inspec-
tion.
METHOD
Subjects
Seventy-three children
(30
males,
43
females) referred for possible placement
in
a
gifted education program comprised the sample. The subjects totaled
75%
(the other
25%
were administered other measures of intelligence) of the total number of gifted referrals
made
in
a rural Kansas school district during the fall of 1980. Chronological age ranged
from 6-0 to 16-7, with a mean age of
11-5.
Procedure
Eight
qualified examiners administered the WISC-R to the subjects: one examiner
used modified conditions only; six used standard conditions only; and one examiner ad-
ministered the WISC-R
in
both modified and standard fashion.
Correspondence concerning this article should be directed to Jack Kramer, College of Education, Univer-
sity
of
Oklahoma, Norman,
OK
73069.
'This project was completed as part of the requirements for the Master of Science degree at Fort Hays
State University.
137