Factor structure of psychoeducational and neuropsychological measures of learning-disabled children

Abstract

This study investigated the factor structure of psychoeducational and neuropsychological measures used in the assessment of learning-disabled children. The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised, the Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Battery, the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, and the Wide Range Achievement Test were administered to 934 males and females between the ages of 8 and 16 years. A principal-components analysis with varimax rotation indicated the existence of seven factors: Verbal Reasoning, Academic Achievement, Visual-Perceptual Organization, Developmental, Visual-Motor Speed, Spatial Memory, and Attention and Concentration. Three factors provided new information about the functioning of learningdisabled children that may need to be considered before comprehensive identification and placement decisions can be offered. Results of this study lend support to the notion of utilizing neuropsychological measures as an adjunct to traditional psychoeducational assessment. 109

How do executive functions fit with the Cattell–Horn–Carroll model? Some evidence from a joint factor analysis of the Delis–Kaplan Executive Function System and the Woodcock–Johnson III tests of cognitive abilities

“…Of all the tests and conditions included in the DKEFS and employed in this study, tasks like Trail Making: Letter Number Switching appear to have received the most study via factor‐analytic research. Although some studies indicated that this task measures abilities associated with sound discrimination, tactile awareness, and visuospatial abilities (Chittooran et al 1993, D'Amato, Gray, & Dean 1988; Lamar, Zonderman, & Resnick, 2002; Larrabee & Curtiss, 1995; Leonberger et al, 1991; Sherman et al, 1995), the results of this study are consistent with some prior research indicating that it measures Processing Speed (Larabee, 2000; Salthouse, 2005). It also appears, however, to measure Short‐Term Memory, which is facilitated by interference control and verbal rehearsal.…”

“…Some researchers have found that the child and adult versions of the Wechsler intelligence scales (e.g., Wechsler, 1974, 1981) contain subtests that measure the same factors as subtests from neuropsychological test batteries designed to assess purported components of executive functions, including working memory (Chittooran, D'Amato, Lassiter, & Dean, 1993; Leonberger, Nicks, Goldfader, & Munz, 1991; Leonberger, Nicks, Larrabee, & Goldfader, 1992), nonverbal or spatial reasoning (Leonberger et al, 1991, 1992; Sherman, Strauss, Spellacy, & Hunter, 1995), and attention and concentration (Leonberger et al, 1992). Although most of these studies did not consider the possibility that the general factor (Jensen, 1998) influenced all test scores across batteries, some researchers have found that both tests of executive functions and tests of cognitive abilities tap a general construct (e.g., Kelly, Arceneaux, Dean, & Anderson, 1994).…”