Using Z and age-equivalent scores to address WISC-IV floor effects for children with intellectual disability

The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - Fourth Edition often produces floor effects in individuals with intellectual disability. Calculating respondents' Z or age-equivalent scores has been claimed to remedy this problem.

The present study applied these methods to the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - Fourth Edition scores of 198 individuals diagnosed with intellectual disability. Confirmatory factor analysis and profile analysis were conducted using a Bayesian approach.

The intelligence structure in intellectual disability resembled the one previously reported for typical development, suggesting configural but not metric invariance. When Z or age-equivalent scores (but not traditional scaled scores) were used, the average profile resembled the one previously reported for other neurodevelopmental disorders.

Both methods avoided any floor effects, generating similar but not identical profiles. Despite some practical and conceptual limitations, age-equivalent scores may be easier to interpret. This was true even for a subgroup of individuals with more severe disabilities (mean IQ < 43).