Wide Range Achievement Test-Revised Reading Research Articles

The interaction of education and cumulative lead exposure on the Mini-Mental State Examination.

The effect of lead exposure on neurobehavioral performance is modified by age. Whether educational achievement can serve as an effect modifier on the lead-cognitive performance relationship is examined. The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the reading section of the Wide Range Achievement Test-Revised (WRAT-R), a measure of educational achievement, were administered to 256 lead smelter workers. The workers had a mean (standard deviation) age of 41 (7.9) years, education of 10 (2.8) years, employment duration of 17 (8.1) years, current blood lead of 28 (8.8) micrograms/dL, and working lifetime integrated blood lead index (IBL) of 725 (434) micrograms-yr/dL. The median (range) MMSE score was 29 (19 to 30). Multiple linear regression assessed the contribution of age, WRAT-R, education, alcohol intake, cigarette use, IBL, and IBL x WRAT-R on MMSE performance. A significant IBL x WRAT-R interaction examined by stratification found a significant dose-effect relationship between IBL and MMSE, but only in the 78 workers with a WRAT-R reading grade level below 6 years. Workers with higher educational achievement compensated for the effect of lead on cognitive performance.

School difficulties at adolescence in a regional cohort of children who were extremely low birth weight.

To compare measures of psychometric assessment and school difficulties in a cohort of extremely low birth weight (ELBW) teenagers and term controls, and to determine whether there is stability in psychometric measures between age 8 and the teen years. Longitudinal follow-up; geographically defined region. 150 of 169 (89%) ELBW survivors born between 1977 and 1982 and 124 of 145 (86%) sociodemographically matched term controls between 12 and 16 years of age. Psychometric measures: Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised, Wide Range Achievement Test-Revised, and a validated parent questionnaire. Neurosensory impairments were present in 28% of ELBW and 1% of controls. The mean Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised scores were ELBW: 89 +/- 19 and controls: 102 +/- 13. ELBW children did less well on Wide Range Achievement Test-Revised Reading, Spelling, and Arithmetic measures with mean scores in the range from 75 to 85. ELBW children <750 g were more disadvantaged, compared with those >/=750 g. A significantly higher proportion of ELBW children were receiving special educational assistance and/or had repeated a grade (ELBW: 58%; controls: 13%; odds ratio: 9.0). Paired analysis of within-cohort data at age 8 and teen years showed that for both cohorts Arithmetic scores declined, but there were small improvements in other measures, predominantly in the term children. Differences of 13 to 18 points in psychometric measures in ELBW teens compared with controls are both statistically significant and clinically relevant. Decreasing birth weight was associated with increased risk on all measures. The high utilization of special educational resources has economic implications, and the incremental cost attributable to being extremely premature needs to be determined.

The Relationship Between Ethnicity and Word Fluency

The impact of ethnicity on word fluency measures, i.e., the FAS (Benton & Hamsher, 1976) and Animal Naming (AN) (Spreen & Strauss, 1991) tests, was explored. The groups included: White (n = 200), Black (n = 200), and Hispanic (n = 200) veterans. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) revealed significant main effects for FAS and AN total scores both before and after covarying for income, education, and Wide Range Achievement Test-Revised Reading scores (p <.05). The largest unadjusted group mean difference approximated a medium effect size. No differences were found between FAS and AN standardized scores within each group. The findings are discussed as they relate to clinical practice and research.

The Relationship Between Ethnicity and Word Fluency

The impact of ethnicity on word fluency measures, i.e., the FAS (Benton & Hamsher, 1976) and Animal Naming (AN) (Spreen & Strauss, 1991) tests, was explored. The groups included: White ( n = 200), Black ( n = 200), and Hispanic ( n = 200) veterans. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) revealed significant main effects for FAS and AN total scores both before and after covarying for income, education, and Wide Range Achievement Test-Revised Reading scores ( p < .05). The largest unadjusted group mean difference approximated a medium effect size. No differences were found between FAS and AN standardized scores within each group. The findings are discussed as they relate to clinical practice and research.

The comparability of the WRAT-R reading test and NAART as estimates of premorbid intelligence in neurologically impaired patients

A study by Wiens, Bryan, and Crossen (1993) suggests the Wide Range Achievement Test-Revised (WRAT-R) Reading subtest and North American Adult Reading Test (NAART) are adequate predictors of Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R) IQ scores for a normal population. Although it is common practice to use reading scores to estimate premorbid IQ in clinical populations, the WRAT-R and NAART have not been compared using individuals with brain dysfunction. The current study cross-validated the Wiens et al. (1993) study using neurologically impaired populations: traumatic brain injury ( n = 118), dementia ( n = 37), and other neurologic impairments ( n = 77). The results were generally consistent across all three groups: (a) the WRAT-R and NAART were equivalent and accurate estimates of average VIQ levels; (b) the WRAT-R and NAART were equivalent but underestimates of higher intelligence ranges; and (c) the WRAT-R is a more accurate estimate for lower VIQ ranges, although both are overestimates. This third finding is in contrast to Wiens et al.'s (1993) results that suggest the WRAT-R is an accurate estinate of lower IQ ranges for normals. It is concluded that the WRAT-R is the preferred measure of premorbid verbal intelligence for psychometric and clinical reasons.

The comparability of the WRAT-R reading test and NAART as estimates of premorbid intelligence in neurologically impaired patients

A study by Wiens, Bryan, and Crossen (1993) suggests the Wide Range Achievement Test-Revised (WRAT-R) Reading subtest and North American Adult Reading Test (NAART) are adequate predictors of Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R) IQ scores for a normal population. Although it is common practice to use reading scores to estimate premorbid IQ in clinical populations, the WRAT-R and NAART have not been compared using individuals with brain dysfunction. The current study cross-validated the Wiens et al. (1993) study using neurologically impaired populations: traumatic brain injury ( n = 118), dementia ( n = 37), and other neurologic impairments ( n = 77). The results were generally consistent across all three groups: (a) the WRAT-R and NAART were equivalent and accurate estimates of average VIQ levels; (b) the WRAT-R and NAART were equivalent but underestimates of higher intelligence ranges; and (c) the WRAT-R is a more accurate estimate for lower VIQ ranges, although both are overestimates. This third finding is in contrast to Wiens et al.'s (1993) results that suggest the WRAT-R is an accurate estinate of lower IQ ranges for normals. It is concluded that the WRAT-R is the preferred measure of premorbid verbal intelligence for psychometric and clinical reasons.

Traditional IQ Is Irrelevant to Learning Disabilities—Intelligence Is Not

This investigation examined the relationship between intelligence and phonological coding when ability was redefined according to the Planning, Attention, Simultaneous, Successive (PASS) cognitive processing model. This study directly tested the hypothesis that traditional IQ tests may be irrelevant to the definition of learning disabilities, but a different theory of intelligence may be more sensitive to deficiencies related to reading failure. Normally achieving students (n = 30) and students with reading disabilities (n = 30) ranging in age from 7.7 years to 15.3 years (mean = 11.9 years, SD = 2.4 years) were administered measures of the PASS cognitive processes, the Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery-Revised pseudoword reading, and the Wide Range Achievement Test-Revised (WRAT-R) reading recognition tests. Results showed that the sample with reading disabilities earned significantly lower scores on the WRAT-R Reading (mean = 69.3) than the nondisabled subjects (mean = 91.4) and, similarly, on pseudowords those with reading problems earned a mean of 78.9 while the nondisabled earned a mean of 96.3. For the sample with reading disabilities, pseudoword reading scores were significantly predicted by successive processing scores (R2 = .267), but no other processing variable added to the prediction; successive scores (R2 = .212) and the combination of successive and planning (R2 = .296) were significant predictors of WRAT-R Reading scores.

Can Learning Disabilities in Children Who Were Extremely Low Birth Weight Be Identified at School Entry?

This prospective study was designed to test the hypothesis that a significant proportion of extremely low birth weight (ELBW) children identified as "at risk" for school problems at age 5 years by the Florida Kindergarten Screening Battery (FKSB) will present with specific learning disability (LD) when retested at age 8 years. A regional cohort of 81 of 84 ELBW survivors born between 1980 and 1982 were reassessed at age 8 years by Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R), Wide Range Achievement Test-Revised (WRAT-R), and tests of motor function. The association of FKSB risk status and WRAT-R reading subtest for predicting general reading disability in the overall sample at age 8 years resulted in a sensitivity of 0.68, specificity of 0.48, and a likelihood ratio of 1.3. Of the 43 "normal" children at age 5 years with no neurosensory impairments and IQ > or = 84 (McCarthy GCI), 49% were considered to be at "mild" to "high" risk for future LD. The prevalence of specific LD (reading disorder) at age 8 years in children with normal IQ (WISC-R > or = 85) was 28%. The positive predictive value of the 5-year FKSB for identifying children with specific LD at age 8 years was 0.20 (sensitivity 0.33, specificity 0.48). We conclude the FKSB is not an efficient tool for predicting either general or specific LD in ELBW children.