TEST CRITIQUE PAPER

Test Critique Paper

Test Critique Paper

The WPPSII1I (Wechsler, 2002a) is an individually administered measure of intelligence for young children. It is the latest revision of the WPPSI from The Psychological Corporation (TPC) and features a number of significant changes from previous editions. The age range has been extended down to 2 years, 6 months (2:6) and like the WPPSI-R (Wechsler, 1989) extends to 7:3. The test is now divided up into age bands, the younger covering from 2:6 to 3:11 and the older from 4:0 to 7:3. This was done to tailor the test battery to the differences in cognitive processes between younger and older preschoolers.

There have also been major changes at the subtest level. Seven new subtests have been added. Many of these were created to update the WPPSI's theoretical foundations. One goal in this update was to better assess fluid reasoning abilities. To this end, the Picture Concepts, Matrix Reasoning, and Word Reasoning subtests were created. A second goal of the update was to measure processing speed abilities in preschoolers similar to the WISC-I1I (Wechsler, 1991) and the WAIS-I1I (Wechsler, 1997). Modified versions of the Coding and Symbol Search subtests from the WISC- III were created for preschoolers in the older age band. Two other subtests, Receptive Vocabulary and Picture Naming, were added to better assess language skills.

Excellent psychometrics is a necessary but not sufficient condition for a test to be effective in assessing intelligence in young children. There are a number of very practical considerations that must be met for the clinician to conclude that a test has good utility. These range from whether the test is enjoyable enough to engage the child, to whether the scores produced by the test actually help in better understanding the child's difficulties and pointing towards solutions. ...