The new adult reading test-revised: Accuracy in estimating WAIS-R IQ scores obtained 3.5 years earlier from normal older persons

Abstract

Scores on the New Adult Reading Test-Revised (NART-R) were used to estimate WA1S-R IQ scores obtained approximately 3.5 years earlier from 54 normal older persons (M = 68 y; SD = 8.6). NART-R estimated IQ scores correlated reliably with earlier obtained IQ scores: FS1Q r = 0.70; VIQ r = 0.68; PIQ r = 0.61 (all p's < 0.05). NART-R estimated FSIQs underpredicted obtained FSIQs by an average of 3.8 points (SD = 9.3). The correlation between estimated and obtained FSIQ is fairly high and estimated FSIQ is reasonably close to obtained IQ, despite the considerable length of time passing between WAIS-R and NART-R administration. These results represent the first confirmation of the retrospective accuracy of the NART-R in estimating WAIS-R scores across time, a previously untested but critical assumption for clinical application of this approach. These results also apparently represent the first cross-validation of the NART-R in a sample of older Americans. These results suggest that further research on the clinical utility of the NART-R is warranted.