Is the Demise of IQ Interpretation Justified? A Response to Special Issue Authors

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-2007

Abstract

Standardized testing of intellectual and cognitive functioning remains a critical component of psychological assessment despite widespread criticism of the practice. Although most standardized intellectual measures are some of the best tools available to practitioners,opponents of intellectual assessment argue the traditional use of global IQ-achievement discrepancy has little diagnostic utility or treatment validity. It is time to move beyond the academic rhetoric of global intelligence to make standardized intellectual assessment meaningful for individual children. In this paper, we respond to special issue authors by presenting clinical and statistical arguments that support idiographic interpretation of intellectual measures for children with disabilities and variable test profiles, and offer recommendations for practice that demonstrate the clinical utility of such approaches. If practitioners move beyond global IQ interpretation, and methods for objective idiographic interpretation are established, the practice of intellectual assessment will be once again valued and respected among those in clinical and educational practice.

Publication Title

Applied Neuropsychology

Volume

14

Issue

1

First Page

37

Last Page

51

Comments

This article was published in Applied Neuropsychology, Volume 14, Issue 1, January 2007, Pages 37-51.

The published version is available at http://academia.edu/302928/Is_the_Demise_of_IQ_Interpretation_Justified_A_Response_to_Special_Issue_Authors

Copyright © 2007 by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

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