Research on the Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery: Implications for Practice and Future Investigations

Abstract

Research on the Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery (WJPEB) is reviewed relative to three specific issues, and the practical implications of these issues are highlighted. Since the majority of the research has been conducted on Part I, Tests of Cognitive Ability (WJTCA), the review is primarily oriented to this section of WJPEB. The first issue discussed pertains to the possibility of a discrepancy between the mean scores of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) and the WJTCA. Several hypotheses to account for the discrepancies reported in the literature are explored. Second, the verbal and nonverbal composition of the WJTCA is examined relative to the structure of the WISC-R. Finally, the related issues of the abundance of scores generated by the WJPEB and the overlap of the WJTCA with traditional measures of academic achievement are discussed. The last section of the article highlights areas for future research investigations with the WJPEB.