Use of the discrepancy approach in defining learning disabilities is challenged, as intelligence tests do not measure potential, are not independent from what is measured by achievement tests, and are not powerful predictors of low reading performance. Use of intelligence tests in analysis, identification, and definition of learning disabilities…

In commenting on Linda Siegel's argument (in EC221505) that Intelligence Quotient is not causally related to reading difficulties, this paper argues that Intelligence Quotient is relevant to the definition of reading disabilities but that present knowledge may not justify its use in the selection of children for special services. (JDD)

This response to Linda Siegel's paper (EC221505) suggests some alternative explanations of phonological processing as a basis for determining reading disability. Discussed are the use of pseudoword tests, the relationship between phonological coding and intelligence quotient, and the relationship between phonological coding and reading…

This response to a paper by Linda Siegel (EC221505) on the relationship between Intelligence Quotient and learning disabilities addresses the differences between classification and identification, limitations in Siegel's conceptualization of intelligence, and the representation of the language and learning domains subsumed within the learning…

Comparison of results obtained for 62 normally developing preschool children on the Bracken Basic Concept Scale, the Preschool Language Scale, and the Slosson Intelligence Test revealed low to moderate correlations between the three tests. Results suggest the tests do not measure the same abilities and thus cannot be used interchangeably. (DB)

This paper reviews the advantages and disadvantages of testing for giftedness, the repercussions of testing and not testing, issues concerning intelligence quotients, and the effects of labeling children. (JDD)

Critiques ideas expressed by Gould in "The Mismeasure of Man." Agrees with Gould that many scientists who studied human intelligence were racist, but disagrees that their work must therefore necessarily be dismissed. Disputes Gould's claim that factor analysts who study human intelligence have reified their factors and that factor…

This editorial provides an informal review of "The Bell Curve" (Herrnstein and Murray, 1994). The book, packaged as scientific writing, is an attack on affirmative action and on government attempts to foster egalitarianism. It is a political treatise that assumes that racial differences in intelligence are valid and genetic. (SLD)

The concurrent validity of 2 brief intelligence tests, the Matrix Analogies Test-Short Form (MAT) and the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test (K-BIT) with the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Third Edition (WISC-III) using a sample of 50 urban students. The MAT and K-BIT appeared equally useful as screening tests. (SLD)

The Stanford-Binet IV is compared to the original version and criticized for having less power to measure the high end of intelligence and for having norms that discriminate against gifted students. Strengths of the Stanford-Binet L-M are pointed out, and use of both scales for different purposes is recommended. (JDD)

Examines the use of educational indicators to serve educational policy ends, the potential benefits and dangers of various uses, and how to forge guidelines for appropriate relationships between indicators and policy. Indicators should not be used as administrative controls or policy levers, but to illuminate educational activities and processes…

This article concludes that the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale: Fourth Edition is poorly suited for assessment of children less than five years old with possible mild mental retardation and for persons of any age with possible severe mental retardation. The continued use of Form L-M is recommended for these populations. (Author/DB)

The hypothesis that a task that increases in complexity (increasing its correlation with a central measure of intelligence) does so by increasing its dimensionality by tapping individual differences or another variable was supported by findings from 46 adults aged 20-70 years performing a mental counting task. (SLD)

This assessment of the usefulness of the "Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence-Revised" and the "Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Third Edition" for gifted children found that both are technically superior instruments with sensitive items, exceptional standardization, strong construct validity, and…

Validity studies conducted with the Stanford Binet Intelligence Scale: Fourth Edition (SB:FE) are reviewed. Results support its validity as a measure of general mental ability and that it can distinguish between groups of youngsters with differing intellectual abilities. Recommendations are made for use of the SB:FE. (SLD)