Woodcock-Johnson Tests Of Cognitive Ability Research Articles

Cognitive Measures and the Acceptable Noise Level.

The aim of this study was to determine the relation between the acceptable noise level (ANL) and cognitive measures of auditory attention and working memory. Young adults were administered the following tests: the ANL, the Digit Span and Letter-Number Sequencing subtests of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Fourth Edition, the Auditory Attention subtest from the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Abilities, the Hearing in Noise Test (HINT), and the operation span (OSPAN) test. A correlation matrix was constructed using Pearson coefficients. Twenty-four young adults aged 20-29 years with normal hearing participated in the study. No significant relationships were found among the ANL and the different cognitive tasks, nor was there a significant relation found between the ANL and the HINT. However, significant relationships were found between individual cognitive tasks. There was a significant relation found between selective attention and the most comfortable level of presentation of a story. Selective attention may be a key cognitive function in acceptance of background noise.

Elevated Hair Mercury Levels Are Associated With Neurodevelopmental Deficits in Children Living Near Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining in Peru.

Children living near artisanal and small‐scale gold mining (ASGM) are at risk of exposure to mercury, a neurotoxicant. It is not certain whether such exposures are harming development, as they occur in underresourced contexts entwined with other stressors, such as malnutrition and enteric infection. This study sought to investigate the association between hair‐mercury levels and visual‐motor, cognitive, and physical development among children living near ASGM in the Peruvian Amazon. Total hair‐mercury levels were measured in 164 children ages 5–12 living in Madre de Dios, Peru. Primary outcomes included Visual‐Motor Integration assessed via the Beery‐VMI Developmental Test, General Cognitive Ability assessed via the Batería‐III Woodcock‐Munoz (Spanish‐language Woodcock‐Johnson Tests of Cognitive Abilities), and Physical Health assessed via anthropometry/hemoglobin counts. Mean (SD) hair‐mercury level was 2.06 (2.43) μg/g. Fifty‐four children (32.9%) had hair‐mercury levels above the World Health Organization reference level of 2.0 μg/g. After controlling for sex, child age, maternal education, and family socioeconomic status, each one unit increase in log hair‐mercury level was associated with a 1.01 unit decrease in Visual‐Motor Integration (95%CI: −2.06, 0.05, p = 0.061), a 2.59 unit decrease in General Cognitive Ability (95%CI: −4.52, −0.66, p = 0.012), and a 2.43 unit decrease in Physical Health (95%CI: −5.34, 0.49, p = 0.096). After adjustment for covariates, children with hair‐mercury levels exceeding the World Health Organization reference level scored 4.68 IQ points lower in Cognitive Ability than their peers. Mercury exposures related to ASGM may be harming child development in the Peruvian Amazon. Children in this region may benefit from intervention to reach their full developmental potential.

Musical Instrument Practice Predicts White Matter Microstructure and Cognitive Abilities in Childhood.

Musical training has been associated with advantages in cognitive measures of IQ and verbal ability, as well as neural measures including white matter microstructural properties in the corpus callosum (CC) and the superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF). We hypothesized that children who have musical training will have different microstructural properties in the SLF and CC. One hundred children aged 7.9–9.9 years (mean age 8.7) were surveyed for their musical activities, completed neuropsychological testing for general cognitive abilities, and underwent diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) as part of a larger study. Children who play a musical instrument for more than 0.5 h per week (n = 34) had higher scores on verbal ability and intellectual ability (standardized scores from the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Abilities), as well as higher axial diffusivity (AD) in the left SLF than those who did not play a musical instrument (n = 66). Furthermore, the intensity of musical practice, quantified as the number of hours of music practice per week, was correlated with axial diffusivity (AD) in the left SLF. Results are not explained by age, sex, socio-economic status, or physical fitness of the participants. The results suggest that the relationship between musical practice and intellectual ability is related to the maturation of white matter pathways in the auditory-motor system. The findings suggest that musical training may be a means of improving cognitive and brain health during development.

Disrupted development and integrity of frontal white matter in patients treated for pediatric medulloblastoma.

Treatment of pediatric medulloblastoma is associated with known neurocognitive deficits that we hypothesize are caused by microstructural damage to frontal white matter (WM). Longitudinal MRI examinations were collected from baseline (after surgery but before therapy) to 36 months in 146 patients and at 3 time points in 72 controls. Regional analyses of frontal WM volume and diffusion tensor imaging metrics were performed and verified with tract-based spatial statistics. Age-adjusted, linear mixed-effects models were used to compare patient and control images and to associate imaging changes with Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Abilities. At baseline, WM volumes in patients were similar to those in controls; fractional anisotropy (FA) was lower bilaterally (P < 0.001) and was associated with decreased Processing Speed (P = 0.014) and Broad Attention (P = 0.025) performance at 36 months. During follow-up, WM volumes increased in controls but decreased in patients (P < 0.001) bilaterally. Smaller WM volumes in patients at 36 months were associated with concurrent decreased Working Memory (P = 0.026) performance. Lower FA in patients with pediatric medulloblastoma compared with age-similar controls indicated that patients suffer substantial acute microstructural damage to supratentorial frontal WM following surgery but before radiation therapy or chemotherapy. Additionally, this damage to the frontal WM was associated with decreased cognitive performance in executive function 36 months later. This early damage also likely contributed to posttherapeutic failure of age-appropriate WM development and to the known association between decreased WM volumes and decreased cognitive performance.

Impact of aerobic physical activities on different memory systems

Introduction: The aging society has become one of the key issues regarding the health policy. World Health Organization states that by the year 2050, population aged over 60 will reach 22%. Despite the increase of a human lifespan, illnesses and declines created by the age, have not changed over the years (WHO, 2016). The research shows that it is possible to delay such issues as cognitive decline with aging and even dementia by changing ones lifestyle (Benedict et al., 2012). The main objective of this study was to examine the relationship between long-term aerobic physical activity and different memory systems. Methods: 29 participants aged from 65 to 80 (M = 72,48, SD = 4,7, 28% male) participated in the study. Participants were divided into three groups based on their aerobic physical activity experience. In the first group were seniors with long-term regular aerobic physical activity experience, who have also been involved into competitive sports, in the second group seniors with short-term regular aerobic physical activity experience were included. In the third group participants with overall sedentary life style were included. To assess long-term and short term memory the Memory Ten Word test (Luria, 1976), to assess associative memory and working memory, two subtests from Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive abilities were used – Memory for Names and The Numbers Reversed Test (Mather &amp; Woodcock, 2001). To obtain information on demographic data as well as physical activity experience, Demographic Data Questionnaire, International Physical Activity Questionnaire for Elderly (Hurtig-Wennlöf, Hagströmer, &amp; Olsson, 2010) and Social Determinants of Health Behaviours (FINBALT, 2008) were used. The testing process was conducted working with each participant individually for two days. Results: Preliminary data indicated neither significant diferences nor correlations in memory systems across all three groups. Conclusions: The present data shows that long- or short-term involvement in aerobic physical activity does not impact any of the memory systems; however, this study has many limitations that might impact the results. Firstly, and most importantly, there are still discussions on proper group division as some of the long-term active seniors currently are less active than their short-term active peers. Secondly, in data analysis we did not control for education or age and thirdly, data analysis were conducted on a very small sample.

The Music Attentiveness Screening Assessment, Revised (MASA-R): A Study of Technical Adequacy.

Evidence suggests that attention is an important consideration when designing procedural support interventions for children undergoing distressing medical procedures. As such, the extent to which children can attend to musical stimuli used during music-based procedural support interventions would seem important. The Music Attentiveness Screening Assessment (MASA) was designed to assess a child's ability to attend to musical stimuli, but further revisions were deemed necessary to improve administration, test-retest reliability, and interobserver agreement for the measure's items. This study investigated the technical adequacy of the Music Attentiveness Screening Assessment, Revised (MASA-R), with a non-clinical sample of children aged 4 to 9 years by examining (a) Construct validity using comparator instruments measuring auditory attention; (b) Test-retest reliability following a two-week delay; and (c) Interobserver agreement when administered by two independent examiners. This non-clinical sample included 69 children who were administered both items from MASA-R and two comparator instruments: the Auditory Attention subtest from the NEPSY-II (NII-AA) for children aged 5 to 9 years (n = 47); and the Auditory Attention subtest from the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Abilities, 3rd ed. (WJIII-AA), for children aged 4 years (n = 22). A significant proportion of score variance was shared by both MASA-R items and the comparator measures: R (2) = .16, F(2, 66) = 6.30, p = .003. MASA-R score estimates with regard to test-retest reliability (Item I, intra-class correlation [ICC] = .88; Item II, ICC = .91) and interobserver agreement (Item I, ICC = .99; Item II, ICC = .98) also fell into acceptable ranges. Estimates of MASA-R score construct validity, test-retest reliability, and interobserver agreement appear improved over its predecessor, MASA. While findings are promising, additional investigation of its use with a clinical sample is needed before it can be confidently used in pediatrics.

EXAMINER Executive Function Battery and Neurologic Morbidity in Pediatric Sickle Cell Disease

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is blood disorder with a high risk for cerebral vascular morbidities that impact neurocognitive functioning. Specific cognitive abilities are known to be more sensitive to neurologic effects of SCD than IQ scores, yet there is little consensus about which measures to use to assess neurocognitive functioning. We evaluated the ability of the Executive Abilities: Methods and Instruments for Neurobehavioral Evaluation and Research (EXAMINER) Battery to detect neurologic effects in SCD. Thirty-two youth with SCD and sixty demographically-matched comparison youth completed the EXAMINER Battery and selected tests from the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Ability, 3rd edition (WJ-III). Neurologic severity was examined via clinical history for morbidities and midsagittal corpus callosum (CC) area. Results indicated cognitive performance decreased with increasing neurologic morbidity across all cognitive measures; two of four EXAMINER factors were related to CC area. The association with clinical history and midsagittal CC area appeared at least as large for the Examiner Battery scores as for the WJ-III measures. The Examiner Battery showed sensitivity to neurologic history and white matter effects in SCD; this new measure compares favorably to established measures of disease-related neurocognitive effects, but would benefit from further development.

Examination of the Cross-Battery Approach for the Cognitive Assessment of Children and Youth From Diverse Linguistic and Cultural Backgrounds

.Flanagan, Ortiz, and Alfonso (2007) recently developed the Culture-Language Interpretive Matrices (C-LIMs) for the cognitive assessment of children and youth from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. To examine the utility of this new approach, we administered the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Abilities to a sample of students receiving English as a second language services in public school settings who had not been referred for special education services. Results of within-subjects analyses of the predicted effects of linguistic demand and of cultural loading on subtest scores in the C-LIM were nonsignificant. Although a statistically significant (decreasing) trend was observed for the effect of linguistic demand and cultural loading combined, post hoc analyses revealed that this finding was attributable to a significantly higher score on one subtest and did not reflect significant differences among all three subtests in this contrast. Moreover, only 13% of the sample had a pattern of test scores that was consistent with Flanagan et al.’s C-LIM predictions of the pattern of subtest scores predicted for children and youth from diverse backgrounds. In sum, results of our study suggest that further research is needed to substantiate the use of C-LIMs for diagnostic purposes with diverse populations.

Auditory and Visual Continuous Performance Tests

Elementary school children in three grade groups (Grades K/1, 3, and 5/6) completed either the auditory or the visual 1/9 vigilance task from the Gordon Diagnostic System (GDS) as well as subtests from the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children–Third Edition and auditory or visual processing subtests from the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Ability–Revised (WJ-R). Teachers rated the children's classroom attentional and self-control behaviors on the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and the Self-Control Observation Scale (SCOS). Although performance on both auditory and visual continuous performance tests (CPTs) improved with age, gender effects were small and limited to the visual CPT. Neither auditory nor visual CPT scores were related to IQ scores. However, auditory CPT scores were related to classroom behaviors as reported by teachers whereas visual CPT scores were related to visual processing.

Developmental Screening/Testing Coding Fact Sheet for Primary Care Pediatricians

Developmental Screening/Testing Coding Fact Sheet for Primary Care Pediatricians

What Does the Cognitive Assessment System (CAS) Measure? Joint Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the CAS and the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Ability (3rd Edition)

Results of recent research by Kranzler and Keith (1999) raised important questions concerning the construct validity of the Cognitive Assessment System (CAS; Naglieri & Das, 1997), a new test of intelligence based on the planning, attention, simultaneous, and sequential (PASS) processes theory of human cognition. Their results indicated that the CAS lacks structural fidelity, leading them to hypothesize that the CAS Scales are better understood from the perspective of Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) theory as measures of psychometric g, processing speed, short-term memory span, and fluid intelligence/broad visualization. To further examine the constructs measured by the CAS, this study reports the results of the first joint confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) of the CAS and a test of intelligence designed to measure the broad cognitive abilities of CHC theory—the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Abilities-3rd Edition (WJ III; Woodcock, McGrew, & Mather, 2001). In this study, 155 general education students between 8 and 11 years of age (M = 9.81) were administered the CAS and the WJ III. A series of joint CFA models was examined from both the PASS and the CHC theoretical perspectives to determine the nature of the constructs measured by the CAS. Results of these analyses do not support the construct validity of the CAS as a measure of the PASS processes. These results, therefore, question the utility of the CAS in practical settings for differential diagnosis and intervention planning. Moreover, results of this study and other independent investigations of the factor structure of preliminary batteries of PASS tasks and the CAS challenge the viability of the PASS model as a theory of individual differences in intelligence.

The Relationship between Language Skills and Competence to Stand Trial Abilities in Persons with Mental Retardation

Competence to stand trial is a critical issue for persons with mental retardation. Information on related abilities such as cognitive and linguistic functioning can enhance the accuracy of evaluations. This study examined the relationship between language ability and competence to stand trial in 39 adults with mild to moderate mental retardation. Language ability was measured by the language subtests of the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Ability and competence to stand trial ability by Section I, Basic Legal Concepts, and Section II, Skills to Assist in Defense, of the Competence Assessment for Standing Trial for Defendants with Mental Retardation (CAST-MR). The results indicated that individuals scoring in the competent range on the CAST-MR scored significantly higher on several Woodcock-Johnson subtests and achieved significantly higher language total scores. A discriminant analysis indicated that three Woodcock-Johnson subtests predicted a competence classification accuracy rate of 78%. Implications for competence evaluation and restoration for persons with mental retardation are discussed.

A comparison of visual and auditory processing tests on the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Ability, Revised and the Learning Efficiency Test-II

A comparison of the visual and auditory processing factors of the WJR Tests of Cognitive Ability and the visual and auditory memory factors of the Learning Efficiency Test, II were examined for 120 undergraduate college students. Repeated measures ANOVAs revealed two significant performance differences: between the WJR COG and LET-II visual processing factors and between the WJR Broad Cognitive Ability index and the LET Global Memory score. Although there was no significant performance difference on the WJR COG and LET-II auditory processing factors, the two measures were independent, accounting for less than 4% shared variance. Similarly, WJR COG and LET-II visual processing factors also were independent. It was hypothesized that differing levels of task complexity, such as order vs. unordered memory retrieval requirements, semantic meaningfulness of the material presented, and rehearsal and/or presence of verbal interference components, represent distinct performance outcome measures of visual and auditory processing by the WJR COG and LET-II. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Early Otitis Media, Auditory Abilities, and Educational Risk

Fourteen children whose first-year otitis media (OM) histories were well documented by prospective pneumatic otoscopy were given formal measures of their academic abilities at 6 years of age using the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Abilities and Tests of Achievement and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale. Parents and teachers of the children completed the appropriate Conners' Rating Scales that queried behavioral and attentional characteristics. In addition, at school age, the children were screened for academic risk using the Screening Instrument for Targeting Educational Risk (SIFTER). At 4 years, these same children's abilities to listen in background competition were assessed using an adaptive competing sentences task. Auditory sensitivity was estimated in the first year of life with the click-ABR.Results suggest that a history of persistent OM and mild conductive hearing loss in the first year of life is associated with poorer academic abilities at school age, particularly in reading skills and those that underlie reading. Teachers' ratings of children's behavior and attention in the academic setting were different between OM groups (first-year OM-free versus OM-positive). Listening in background competition at 4 years of age was associated with teachers' ratings of academic performance at school age. Early OM and mild hearing loss appear detrimental to several auditory-based learning skills.

Some Observations on the Use of the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Ability in Adults with Head Injury

Current research specifies the varied cognitive and psychoeducational deficits in the adult with head injury, and the clinical assessment of this population is widespread, though often only traditional intellectual measures are used. This article provides descriptive data in the first reported study using the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Ability (WJTCA) (Woodcock & Johnson, 1977) in an outpatient sample of 39 adults with closed head injury. The study also addressed (a) the relationships between the various cognitive clusters of the WJTCA and a measure of injury severity (coma duration) and (b) the relationships between the WJTCA and several Halstead-Reitan neuropsychological measures. Correlational analyses indicated significant relationships between coma duration and performance on the Perceptual Speed and Memory clusters of the WJTCA. No relationships were found between the Halstead Category test and any of the WJTCA cognitive clusters, though the Trail Making test correlated significantly with many of the WJTCA clusters. Time since injury did not correlate with any of the WJTCA test results. Other findings are presented, and the advantages and disadvantages of this set of cognitive tests in relation to other psychoeducational and cognitive measures are reviewed.

Theoretical analysis of the Woodcock-Johnson tests of cognitive ability: A second look

Using growth curves as a criterion, Shinn Algozzine, Marston, and Ysseldyke ( Journal of Learning Disabilities, 15, 221–226, 1982) have classified the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Ability (WJTCA) along the process/product continuum of T.E. Newland (W. Cruickshank (Ed.), Psychology of Exceptional Children and Youth (pp. 115–172), 1971). The present study extends this work by comparing the WJTCA score profiles of different cultural groups. Theory suggests that cultural differences would exert a greater effect on product-dominant subtests than on process-dominant ones. Use of this criterion did not support the Shinn et al. groupings. The present study uses dual criteria to posit alternative classifications.

Review of Clinical Interpretation of the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Ability.

Review of Clinical Interpretation of the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Ability.

Factor analysis of the Woodcock-Johnson with conduct disordered adolescents

A factor analysis of the 12 subtests of the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Ability was performed, using 286 conduct disordered male adolescents as subjects. A principal factor analysis procedure was utilized. Factors to be retained were confirmed using the scree test. The factor analysis procedure yielded three factors. These were interpreted as being a primary verbal ability factor, a secondary reasoning factor, and a secondary numerical processing factor. The perceptual speed and memory groupings identified by Woodcock were not duplicated. Implications of these results suggest the cautious use of the Cognitive Factor cluster scores for diagnosis of strengths and weaknesses for the behavior disordered population.

Exploratory Factor Analysis of the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Ability

The school-age standardization samples (grades K-12) of the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Ability (WJTCA) were subjected to a variety of exploratory factor analysis solutions. In addition, parallel analyses were conducted in two public school referral samples. The factors identified in the various solutions suggested a number of alternative models for WJTCA interpretation. Subtest specificity and g loading data for all WJTCA subtests across the 13 school-age samples also were computed. The specificity data suggest that the WJTCA subtests possess higher average specificity than subtests from other measures of intelligence. The plausability of a variety of WJTCA interpretive models suggests the need to subject the WJTCA to confirmatory factor methods.

A Multivariate Analysis of the Wechsler/Woodcock-Johnson Discrepancy Controversy

The Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Ability (WJ-COG) is a relatively new measure of intellec tual ability that is being used by psychoeducational practitioners. Research comparisons suggest strong concurrent and superior predictive validity when compared with the WISC-R. However, early research reports suggested that for some children the WJ-COG produced "lower" scores than the WISC-R, a finding that produced much controver sy. The current study examined the validity of three content difference hypotheses (viz., differences in g, verbal, or achievement content) that have been advanced to explain WISC-R/WJ- COG discrepancies. A series of canonical correla tional analyses were conducted with an elemen tary school sample of 167 children to explore the redundancy between the WISC-R, WJ-COG, and achievement as measured by the Woodcock- Johnson Tests of Achievement. Inspection of the canonical variates, redundancy coefficients, and canonical loadings on the two significant variates extracted in each analysis did not support any of the content difference hypotheses. The findings suggest that the WISC-R/WJ-COG mean score discrepancy may be due to different factor struc tures that have not been appreciated fully in prior research.