Comparison of three WISC-III short forms: Weighing psychometric, clinical, and practical factors

Compared the reliability and validity of three Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Third Edition (WISC-III; Wechsler, 1991) short forms, each a tetrad composed of two Verbal and two Performance subtests. The first tetrad was selected based on psychometric and clinical considerations, and the second was based primarily on practical considerations, namely its brevity in administration and scoring. The third reflects a blend of psychometric, clinical, and practical factors. WISC-III standardization data were used to select the short forms, to determine their psychometric properties, and to develop formulas for computing a child's estimated Full Scale Intelligence Quotient. All three short forms had acceptable average reliability coefficients above .90, but the validity of the brief; practical short form was too low to represent a good alternative to either of the other two tetrads. Overall, the short form that rep resented a comp remise between psychometric-clinical and practical variables (Similarities-Arirhmetic-Picture-Completion-Block Design) seemed to be the best choice.