Concurrent Validation of the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence-Revised (WPPSI-R) with Two Criteria of Cognitive Abilities

The present study investigated the performance of preschool children on the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence-Revised (WPPSI-R) and two widely used measures of cognitive functioning, the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities (MSCA) and the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised (PPVT-R). Subjects were normally functioning children between the ages of 48-60 months (N = 33). There were no significant differences in test scores on the principal measures as a function of test administration order or gender. Mean performance on each instrument was within the average range (i.e., WPPSI-R FSIQ M = 106.8; MSCA GCI M = 108. 1; PPVT-R M = 101.5). Results indicate a strong and significant correlation between the WPPSI-R Full Scale IQ and the MSCA-GCI (r = .70, corrected for restricted range.) Similarly high intercorrelations were noted between the MSCA-GCI and WPPSI-R VIQ and PIQ. By contrast, the correlation between the FSIQ and the PPVT-R was significantly lower.