CHC bandwagon officially declared: Observations from 2005 NASP convention

OK. I unilaterally declare that the CHC assessment bandwagon is here and gathering steam in school psychology.

After two days at the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) annual convention in Atlanta, I’m officially declaring that the CHC “tipping point” occurred sometime during the past five years and that the CHC bandwagon is getting larger.

During breakfast this morning, while skimming the convention program, I counted at least 20+ different workshops, papers, and/or posters that either dealt with CHC-designed batteries (e.g., WJ III, KABC-III, SB5), CHC theory, CHC Cross-Battery (CB) assessment, or mentioned CHC in the program abstract. This represents, in my informal memory-based analysis, a significant increase in presentations related to Gf-Gc/CHC theory and measurement over the past decade.

Having been involved in the 1977 WJ-to-WJ-R revision, a process that included having both Dr. John “Jack” Carroll and Dr. John Horn as the primary theory consultants (back then it was referred to as Gf-Gc theory), it is now exciting to see that the theory-to-practice gap is finally being bridged, and that an ever-increasing number of test authors and assessment practitioners are on the bandwagon riding over the CHC bridge. This is good for the field. This is good for kids (data being used to make decisions is now built on a solid foundation of validity evidence).

Welcome aboard Gale Roid (SB5 author) and Alan and Nadeen Kaufman (KABC-II authors). [Note....I predict that the DAS-II, will also have a strong CHC flavor.] It is good to see that respected scholars and test developers are now validating the “ahead of the curve” conclusion of Dr. Richard Woodcock, back in 1985, that the then Gf-Gc theory (now known as CHC theory) was “the” structural theory of intelligence that had the most solid empirical and theoretical foundation from which to develop measures of intelligence.

For those who want a historical perspective of what happened, when, and how (with regard to the movement of CHC research into school psychology assessment practice), please read my historical account as posted “up in the sky” (click here..also published in CAI2 book). The events that are documented provide the evidence for my claim of a CHC bandwagon effect.