The short form test of academic aptitude (SFTAA) as a determinant of minimal brain dysfunction in children

The Short Form Test of Academic Aptitude (SFTAA) has been found to yield results comparable to the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children. With this in mind, it was hypothesized that children with minimal brain dysfunction (MBD) would obtain significantly different results on the SFTAA than children without MBD. Two studies (N = 40 and N = 72) using randomly selected MBD and non-MBD third-grade children supported the hypothesis. In Study I, the MBD and non-MBD children were matched on IQ; in Study II, they were not. Study I found that MBD children scored better than non-MBD children on subtest four (memory). Study II illustrated an apparent reversal of this finding and concluded that IQ must be considered in this type of investigation, since it tends to mask aptitude test results.