Performance of Mexican American Children on Intelligence Tests

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to consider the relationship of type of intelligence test (verbal with verbal directions, nonverbal with verbal directions, nonverbal with nonverbal directions), examiner group membership (Mexican American, bilingual Anglo American, monolingual Anglo American), and language dominance of the children (Spanish, bilingual, English) to the performance of Mexican American children on intelligence tests. The 25 children obtained significantly higher IQ scores on the Leiter International Performance Scale (LIPS) and the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI) Performance Scale than on the WPPSI Verbal Scale and WPPSI Full Scales. No significant effect was found for examiner groups, but the dominant language of the child did significantly affect the scores on the intelligence tests with the Spanish dominant children obtaining the lowest mean IQ scores of all three groups.