Comparison of the Kaufman brief intelligence test-second edition and the Wechsler intelligence scale for children-fourth edition

Abstract

Past research on the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test (K-BIT; Kaufman & Kaufman, 1990) and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Third Edition (WISC-III; Wechsler, 1991) have shown good reliability and validity between the scales. However, recently, the KBIT-2 and the WISC-IV have been published. The purpose of the current study was to independently evaluate the construct validity of the KBIT-2 with the WISC-IV. The participants in this study consisted of 48 students enrolled in kindergarten through ninth grade from school districts in central Illinois, who were referred for initial or triennial multidisciplinary evaluation. The results were as hypothesized, with high statistically significant correlations between the KBIT-2 and WISC-IV composite scores, supporting convergent validity. However, the mean KBIT-2 IQ Composite was significantly higher than the WISC-IV FSIQ and represented a medium effect size. Furthermore, the mean KBIT-2 VIQ was significantly higher than the WISC-IV VCI and showed a moderate effect size. However, the mean KBIT-2 NIQ was not significantly higher than the WISC-IV PRI. This study supports the use of the KBIT-2 in reevaluations or other situations where a brief measure of cognitive ability can be utilized. Limitations to this study included a small sample size and the inclusion of only Caucasian and African American participants.

Date of Award	2005
Original language	American English
Awarding Institution	Eastern Illinois University
Supervisor	Gary Canivez (Supervisor)