Construct Validity of the Wisc-III Verbal and Performance Factors for Black Special Education Students

Disparities on Baseline Performance Using Neurocognitive and Oculomotor Clinical Measures of Concussion

BACKGROUND

Given the high participation of Black/African American individuals in high school sports, especially high-risk sports for concussion, it is important to note if racial and socioeconomic status (SES) differences exist in baseline performance on clinical measures of concussion.

PURPOSE

To explore the association between race and SES on baseline concussion assessments of neurocognitive performance and oculomotor function in adolescent athletes.

STUDY DESIGN

Cohort study (Diagnosis); Level of evidence, 3.

METHODS

A total of 564 high school athletes (mean ± SD age, 15.33 ± 1.1 years) completed the baseline Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Test and King-Devick (KD) battery before the start of their competitive season. Race was defined as either White/non-Hispanic or Black/African American. SES status was determined by whether the individual's participating high school was a Title I or non-Title I school. A series of multivariable linear regression analyses were conducted to evaluate the association of computerized neurocognitive test scores (verbal memory, visual memory, motor processing speed, and reaction time), symptom severity scores, and KD scores by race and SES.

RESULTS

White/non-Hispanic individuals performed significantly better than Black/African American individuals on verbal memory (P < .01), visual memory (P < .01), visual motor processing speed (P < .01), and reaction time (P < .01) and had a lower symptom score (P < .01). Regarding SES, individuals from non-Title I schools performed better on visual memory (P = .05) and reaction time (P = .02) than individuals from Title I schools. Examination of cumulative KD test reading time revealed that there was no association between race on baseline reading times (P = .12). There was a significant association between cumulative reading time and SES (P = .02). Individuals from non-Title I schools performed significantly faster than individuals from Title I schools on KD test time.

CONCLUSION

Overall, race and SES influence neurocognitive and oculomotor concussion baseline performance in high school athletes. These findings add to the growing literature on the influence of race and SES on neurocognitive and oculomotor function baseline concussion assessments; they highlight the necessity for individualized concussion baseline measurements or race-specific normative reference values.

Factors Contributing to Disparities in Baseline Neurocognitive Performance and Concussion Symptom Scores Between Black and White Collegiate Athletes

BACKGROUND

National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) concussion guidelines state that all NCAA athletes must have a concussion baseline test prior to commencing their competitive season. To date, little research has examined potential racial differences on baseline neurocognitive performance among NCAA athletes. The purpose of this study was to investigate differences between Black and White collegiate athletes on baseline neurocognitive performance and self-reported symptoms.

METHODS

A total of 597 collegiate athletes (400 White, 197 Black) participated in this study. Athletes self-reported their race on the demographic section of their pre-participation physical examination and were administered the Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Test (ImPACT) neurocognitive battery in a supervised, quiet room. Controlling for sex, data were analyzed using separate one-way analyses of covariance (ANCOVAs) on symptom score, verbal and visual memory, visual motor processing speed, and reaction time composite scores.

RESULTS

Results revealed significant differences between White and Black athletes on baseline symptom score (F (1,542) = 5.82, p = .01), visual motor processing speed (F (1,542) = 14.89, p < .001), and reaction time (F (1,542) = 11.50, p < .01). White athletes performed better than Black athletes on baseline visual motor processing speed and reaction time. Black athletes reported higher baseline symptom scores compared to Whites. There was no statistical difference between race on verbal memory (p = .08) and that on visual memory (p = .06).

CONCLUSIONS

Black athletes demonstrated disparities on some neurocognitive measures at baseline. These results suggest capturing an individual baseline on each athlete, as normative data comparisons may be inappropriate for athletes of a racial minority.

Construct Validity of the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test, Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Third Edition, and Adjustment Scales for Children and Adolescents

The present study reports data supporting the construct validity of the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test (K-BIT; Kaufman & Kaufman, 1990), the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Third Edition (WISC-III; Wechsler, 1991), and the Adjustment Scales for Children and Adolescents (ASCA; McDermott, Marston, & Stott, 1993) through convergent and discriminant comparisons in a sample of 207 students receiving special education evaluations. Results were as hypothesized, with high and statistically significant correlations between the K-BIT and WISCIII, supporting convergent validity. Moderate and statistically significant correlations were obtained between the two intelligence measures (K-BIT and WISC-III) and measures of academic achievement (WIAT, WIAT-II, WJ-R ACH, or WJ-3 ACH) at levels typical of ability-achievement correlations. Correlations between the two intelligence measures (K-BIT and WISC-III) and the ASCA, a measure of child psychopathology, were low to near zero, supporting discriminant validity. Further discriminant evidence of construct validity was provided by the low to near zero correlations between the ASCA and the measures of academic achievement.

Confir Rmatory Factor Analysis of the WISC-III for Students with Learning Disabilities

This study conducted confirmatory factor analyses to examine 12 competing models that attempt to explain the underlying latent constructs measured by the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Third Edition (WNISC-III) in a sample of 1,201 students with learning disabilities (721 White and 480 Nonwhite). Models were selected based upon theoretical explanations of the WISC-III factor structure as well as from previously conducted empirical research conducted on the W7ISC-III normative sample and with independent samples of students with exceptionalities. For both White and Nonwhite groups, four models could not be statistically distinguished from one another based upon overall fit statistics. Plausible models included the traditional first-order four-factor oblique structure of the standardization sample, the hierarchical second-order model with four first-order factors favored by Keith and Witta (1997), a bifactor second-order model with four first-order factors described by Gustafsson and Undheim (1996), and a bifactor second-order model with three first-order factors. Current results add to a growing body of evidence suggesting that WISC-III Verbal Comprehension, Perceptual Organization. and Processing Speed factors are robust across samples but the Freedom from Distractibility factor demonstrates tenuous construct validity.

Structural Validity of the WISC-III for a National Sample of Native American Students

Test bias research with Native American participants is uncommon, although individual tests of intelligence are often used with Native American students to determine eligibility for special education services. Only two studies with minimally adequate sample sizes have addressed the structural validity of major tests of intelligence in Native American populations. It is unfortunate that both used an obsolete test and included students from only two tribes. This study used confirmatory factor analyses to examine the structure of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children—Third Edition (WISC-III) among 344 Native American students representing 12 Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Nations attending BIA schools in 11 states. Results indicated that Wechsler's four-factor oblique model exhibited the best overall statistical fit. Thus, the underlying factor structure of the WISC-III with a national sample of Native Americans was similar to that found in the normative sample. Implications for school psychologists are presented and recommendations for further research are provided.

Race-related cognitive test bias in the active study: a mimic model approach

The present study investigated evidence for race-related test bias in cognitive measures used in the baseline assessment of the ACTIVE clinical trial. Test bias against African Americans has been documented in both cognitive aging and early life span studies. Despite significant mean performance differences, Multiple Indicators Multiple Causes (MIMIC) models suggested most differences were at the construct level. There was little evidence that specific measures put either group at particular advantage or disadvantage and little evidence of cognitive test bias in this sample. Small group differences in education, cognitive status, and health suggest positive selection may have attenuated possible biases.

Characterizing and explaining differences in cognitive test performance between african american and European American older adults

The present study examined differences in cognitive performance of African American and European American older adults on cognitive and intellectual measures, and the extent to which literacy status or reading level was useful in explaining these group differences. African American elders performed more poorly than European American elders on 12 of 13 cognitive tests administered, p < .05. After controlling for reading level achievement, differences in performance became nonsignificant for 5 of these 12 tests. Nonetheless, some differences persisted, suggesting that other potential mediators of race differences remain to be explored in future research.