The Predictive Validity of Four Intelligence Tests for School Grades: A Small Sample Longitudinal Study
- Department of Psychology, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
Intelligence is considered the strongest single predictor of
scholastic achievement. However, little is known regarding the
predictive validity of well-established intelligence tests for school
grades. We analyzed the predictive validity of four widely used
intelligence tests in German-speaking countries: The Intelligence and
Development Scales (IDS), the Reynolds Intellectual Assessment Scales
(RIAS), the Snijders-Oomen Nonverbal Intelligence Test (SON-R 6-40), and
the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-IV), which were
individually administered to 103 children (
Mage = 9.17
years) enrolled in regular school. School grades were collected
longitudinally after 3 years (averaged school grades, mathematics, and
language) and were available for 54 children (
Mage =
11.77 years). All four tests significantly predicted averaged school
grades. Furthermore, the IDS and the RIAS predicted both mathematics and
language, while the SON-R 6-40 predicted mathematics. The WISC-IV
showed no significant association with longitudinal scholastic
achievement when mathematics and language were analyzed separately. The
results revealed the predictive validity of currently used intelligence
tests for longitudinal scholastic achievement in German-speaking
countries and support their use in psychological practice, in particular
for predicting averaged school grades. However, this conclusion has to
be considered as preliminary due to the small sample of children
observed.
Jasmin T. Gygi
Priska Hagmann-von Arx
Florine Schweizer
Alexander Grob
