Race, social class, and predictive bias: An evaluation using the WISC, WRAT, and teacher ratings

Abstract

This study evaluated the interrelationships of a brief form of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC), the Wide Range Achievement Test (WRAT), and teacher ratings of classroom achievement in a large sample ( n = 7,028) of 6- to 11-year-old children. Additionally, the study focused on the differential accuracy of these measures in predicting achievement among test takers who differed in race and socioeconomic status (SES). Overall, the results indicated a substantial relationship between the WISC and WRAT ( r = .67); the WISC and teacher ratings ( r = .45); and the WRAT and teacher ratings ( r = .55). The relationship between the WISC and WRAT was found to be independent of race but did tend to decrease with increasing SES. The two relationships involving teacher ratings were found to be lower for black children (WISC vs. Teacher ratings, r = .33; WRAT vs. Teacher ratings, r = .47) and for black children tended to decrease with increasing SES. Although the correlational analyses indicated that race and SES functioned as moderator variables to some extent, an evaluation of possible predictive biases when using the common (total sample) regression equation indicated that biases in predicting achievement tended to be small and in some cases favored the socially disadvantaged child.