The neuropsychological significance of a verbal-performance discrepancy with the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for...

This study examined the neuropsychological significance of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (Wechsler, 1974) Verbal-Performance discrepancy using a large learning-disabled sample taken from a school population. A simple index was formed to allow the Verbal-Performance discrepancy to be considered as a continuous variable. In an attempt to consider the neuropsychological significance of the Verbal-Performance discrepancy, measures of the Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Battery for older children (HRNB) (Reitan, 1969) were regressed against the index. Some 9% of the variance in Verbal-Performance differences was explained by five neuropsychological measures of the HRNB. The practical significance of this relationship was questioned. It was concluded that the Verbal-Performance discrepancy is a poor general indicator of neuropsychological functioning in learning-disabled students in the school setting.