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The purpose of the present study was to investigate teacher perceptions of psychological reports as a function of the level of jargon utilized. A psychological report was varied such that the same content was conveyed using three levels of jargon: low, medium, and high. The influence of the jargon variable was assessed using the Psychological Report Evaluation Profile (PREP) which contains four dimensions: Usefulness, Understanding and Comprehension, Educational Relevance, and Student Behavioral Characteristics. A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) for overall satisfaction indicated a significant effect for the independent variable. Separate univariate analyses of variance (ANOVAs) for each of the separate dimensions of the PREP suggested only the Understanding and Comprehension factor was significant. The results are discussed in terms of the implications for improving the quality and usefulness of psychological reports.

Scores on three scales of the Pupil Evaluation Inventory (Aggression, Withdrawal, and Likability) were derived from a sample of 200 regular education and mainstreamed elementary students and were compared with group achievement test results and membership in referral subgroups. Results showed low to moderate correlations of the PEI measures with achievement test scores and indicated some gender differences in the magnitude of the relationships. Groups referred for special ser-vices or gifted programs showed significant differences from regular education students on all of the PEI measures. The PEI holds promise for the further study of the social and behavioral correlates of school success.

The capability of WISC-R Verbal Comprehension (VC), Perceptual Organization (PO), and Freedom from Distractibility (FD) factor scores and student self-ratings of behavior from the Behavior Rating Profile Student Rating Scales (BRP-SRS) to predict academic achievement was investigated. Previous research found that intellectual ability accounted for about 50% of the variance in achievement. Other noncognitive variables are expected to account for a portion of the remaining variance and add significantly to the prediction of achievement. Subjects were public school students referred for psychological evaluations due to learning and behavior problems in the classroom. The results of a multivariate multiple regression analysis indicated that VC and FD factors significantly predicted Woodcock-Johnson Reading, Mathematics, and Written Language cluster scores. The VC and FD factors accounted for a major portion of the variance in achievement. Behavioral self-ratings did not contribute significantly to the prediction of achievement scores.Previous studies have examined the ability of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) (Wechsler, 1974) to predict academic achievement. Sattler (1982), summarizing the results of these studies, reported that the WISC-R Verbal IQ (VIQ) had a stronger correlation with achievement than did the Performance IQ (PIQ) and Full Scale IQ (FSIQ). Median correlations between the VIQ and Wide Range Achievement Test (WRAT) scores ranged from .60 to .64, whereas correlations between the PIQ and WRAT ranged from .26 to .48. The FSIQ and WRAT correlations ranged from .56 to .60. Reynolds, Wright, and Dappen (1981) also found the VIQ to be a slightly better predictor than the PIQ for WRAT subtest scores for a sample of 150 elementary students referred for psychological services. VIQ and WRAT subtest correlations ranged from .34 to 3 , while PIQ and WRAT correlations ranged from .30 to .53.Results from other studies are consistent with Sattler's summary of WISC-R and achievement correlations and suggest that verbal intelligence measures are better predictors of academic achievement than are nonverbal measures of intelligence (Willerman, 1979). Breakdown of the WISC-R into verbal and performance subtests is supported by a factor structure that approximates verbal and nonverbal perceptual abilities (Kaufman, 1975). These factors are known as Verbal Conceptualization (VC) and Perceptual Organization (PO) . Gutkin (1978, 1979) found that, not only are the VC and PO factor scores as reliable as the traditional VIQ and PIQ, they are also purer measures of verbal and performance abilities. Additional examination of the WISC-R has indicated the presence of a third, noncognitive factor that has come to be known as Freedom from Distractibility (FD) (Kaufman, 1975(Kaufman, , 1979. Although no consensus has been reached (Stewart & Moley, 1983), the third factor (FD) is generally interpreted as a measure of the behavioral domain instead of an indicator of cognitive abilities. Researchers have als...

The stability of the factor structure of the WISC-R and the WRAT is investigated over a 3-year period for a sample of educable mentally handicapped and mentally retarded students. Factor analyses indicated stable factors for intelligence and achievement across time. Similar factor structures emerged from both initial assessment and re-evaluation data. The argument that intelligence and achievement tests measure similar constructs is not supported in an intellectually retarded sample. Additional support is provided for stability of the factor structures of the WISC-R and WRAT over time.