Do Practice Effects on Wechsler's Performance Subtests Relate to Children's General Ability, Memory, Learning Ability, or Attention?

Abstract

The nature of practice effects on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale–Third Edition (WISC–III) Performance Scale was examined for 51 middle-class White children ages 11 to 13 years. The participants were tested twice on the six WISC–III Performance subtests (mean interval = 13 days) to determine whether the gain scores were significantly related to the children's ability level, memory, learning ability, and attention and motivation. Measures of these constructs were administered during the initial evaluation. Results indicated that retest gains on the separate subtests were uncorrelated with each other. Multiple regression analyses yielded some significant and meaningful results (e.g., a measure of long-term memory was a significant predictor of gains on Object Assembly), but, in general, few meaningful relations were yielded in these analyses.