Intelligence Definition and Measurement

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Achievement Tests

(1) Achievement tests are defined as an evaluation of accomplishment or the degree of learning. They are designed to measure what an individual has learned after being exposed to specific information (Cohen & Swerdlik, 2005, p. 20). Achievement tests may be standardized (a test based on a representative sample of test takers), nationally, regionally, and locally, or the tests may not be standardized. The two achievement described in this format include: the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test, and (2) the Woodcock-Johnson Inventory.

(a) Wechsler Individual Achievement Test

The Wechsler Individual Achievement Test (WIAT) is a test battery designed to meet achievement in specific subject areas as teacher-made tests. For instance, according to Groth-Marnat (2002), whenever a teacher renders a quiz in a specific subject, the test is designed to assess the creativity and/or intellect in this subject. The WIAT is an individually administered test for assessing the achievement of children, adolescents, college students and adults. The inventory assesses a broad range of academic skills (www.csun.edu).

(B) Wood-Cock-Johnson Inventory

The Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Abilities Test (WJ III, Woodcock , McGrew, & Mather, 2001) is comprised of a set of intelligence tests that can be administered to children ranges in ages from two to age 90, and covers a wide variety of cognitive skills. The WJ III examines such factors as (1) Comprehension-Knowledge, (2) Long-Term Retrieval, (3) Visual Spatial thinking, (4) Auditory Processing, Fluid Reasoning, (5) Processing Speed, (6) Short-Term Memory and (Quantitative Knowledge, and (7) Reading-writing Ability (Edwards & Thomas, 2006, p. 359). The WJ III is based upon the Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) theory.

Intelligence Tests

(2) Intelligence Tests illustrate how these factors interact in a in a range of physical and psychological traits.

Intelligence makes up an individual's abilities, skills, beliefs, and personality traits. Cognitive factors include verbal comprehension, memory, ability, perception and reasoning, language processing and problem-solving skills. From a physical perspective, factors of intelligence are focused on one's physical abilities such as motor skills and physical abilities. The two intelligence described are : the Weschlser Adult Intelligence tests scale (WASI) and the Stanford-Binet Scale (SBS).

(a) Wechsler Adult Individual Intelligence Test Scale

The WAIS-III was designed to measure the intelligence of adults and was organized into verbal and performance scales. The WAIS-R was published in 1981. The revision consisted of developing tests with capabilities for test takers, who ...