How Do School Psychologists Interpret Intelligence Tests for the Identification of Specific Learning Disabilities?

Although intelligence tests are among the most widely used psychological instruments in school psychology, at the current time, little is known about how practitioners interpret them. The primary purpose of this study, therefore, was to determine how intelligence tests are interpreted by school psychologists, particularly for the identification of specific learning disabilities (SLD). Participants were 1317 school psychologists who were practicing in the USA. Results indicated that school psychologists differ widely in their approach to intelligence test interpretation, particularly for the identification of SLD, and that these differences are only modestly related to personal characteristics, level and accreditation/approval status of professional training, and state regulations for SLD eligibility determination. Although we found that most practicing school psychologists (80%) regularly interpret the overall score, which is the most reliable and valid score for most uses of intelligence tests in the schools, many also engage in questionable interpretive practices, such as conducting intra-individual (ipsative) subtest analyses and the patterns of strengths and weaknesses approach to SLD identification. Implications of these results for practice and training are discussed.