Three word-identification experiments suggest that a model derived from experiments with pseudowords can be applied successfully to word identification. The first experiment used a technique known to disrupt subjects' ability to use the familiarity of higher order approximations to English without impairing single-character identification. Word identification paralleled the size of the familiarity effect in comparable pseudoword work, a result that suggests both word identification and the familiarity effect are mediated by common mechanisms. The latter are thought to include a postidentification character buffer and a sequential scan operator responsible for converting the character string to a verbal-temporal representation. The conversion includes a parsing function which breaks the character string into verbal units. Two subsequent experiments illustrated predictions of the account by disabling the scan completely or by forcing it to deal with whole words and with syllable and nonsyllable subsets of a word. Taken together, the data confirm the role of higher order verbal units in word identification and suggest the structural components of a verbal-mediation theory of reading.To what extent should theories and data based on identification of pseudowords predict word identification ? Some theorists (e.g., Kolers, 1972) suggest words are read as visual symbols, a position which implies a direct visual route to meaning. Clearly, such views do not permit prediction of word identification from performance on nonsense materials. Pseudowords lack meaning, and thus, in this view, performance on such materials could not reflect reading processes in any di-The research was supported by National Research Council of Canada Grant APA-318 to D. J. K. Mewhort. We thank M. J. Withey and Pat Crawford for assistance in conducting the experiments. We also thank R. von Konigslow, A. J. Campbell, E. E. Smith, and K. T. Spoehr for critical comments on various drafts of the work.

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This paper reviews the literature concerning Canadian substitute items in the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children -Revised and reports data showing that psychologists do use substitutes and that the substitutes are used and scored inconsistently. Studies comparing the scores of Canadian children on the Information subtest of the WISC-R to the normative sample have provided inadequate evidence of disadvantage to Canadian children on the items for which substitutes have been proposed. Comparisons of Canadian children's scores on the Canadian substitute items and on the standard items seem to indicate instead that Canadian substitute items produce inflated scores. A sample of Canadian psychologists report using at least some Canadian substitute item. Beyond simple substitution, they often use and score both the standard and the Canadian items, further compromising the validity of the test. There are inadequate data to establish the need for Canadian substitute items, and appropriate substitutes of equivalent difficulty have not been identified. Canadian examiners are urged to adhere to the standard administration and scoring of the test.Shortly after the publication of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children -Revised (WISC-R) ), Philip Vemon (1974 asked "what to do about items which are clearly unsuitable for Canadian children" (p. 8). Vernon's comments suggest three questions to be addressed: first, that "potential Canadian users get together ... and reach a consensus on what changes are essential"; second, "that some empirical evidence that the substitutes are of equivalent difficulty to the originals be collected''; and third, that "Canadian psychologists should agree on, and use, the same alterations throughout Canada" (p. 9).

WISC-III subtests scores from 44 students referred for special education evaluations and identified as having learning disabilities were used to compute WISC-III short form IQs based on.the Dumont/Faro formula. The resultant short form IQs for Canadian students, scored using United States norms, were compared with the scores obtained from the complete WISC-III. Misclassification indexes were computed. This article discusses the composition of the WISC-III short form, its utility for Canadian children, and guidelines for apprapriate use.

It is well established that Canadians produce higher raw scores than their U.S. counterparts on intellectual assessments. As a result of these differences in ability along with smaller variability in the population's intellectual performance, Canadian normative data will yield lower standard scores for most raw score points compared to U.S. norms. Two recent studies have questioned the utility of the WAIS-IV Canadian norms based on the performance of a mixed clinical sample of post-secondary students. These studies suggest that a greater proportion of cases from their mixed clinical samples fall below a full-scale IQ of 85 using the WAIS-IV Canadian norms than should be "expected." The purpose of the current study is threefold: First, to summarize the consistent finding of Canada-U.S. differences on measures of ability and present new empirical analyses to demonstrate these results are not due to a smaller sample size for Canadian norms. Second, and most importantly, matched sample comparisons demonstrate that the proportion of low scoring individuals (FSIQ < 85) in mixed clinical samples is consistent with the rates published by recent studies, and not greater than expected. Third, we offer evidence-based advice to clinicians practicing in Canada on the appropriate use of Canadian norms for Canadian clients during an individual assessment of intellectual functioning.