Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Administration Duration For The Wechsler Adult Int
Administration Duration For The Wechsler Adult Int
net/publication/9031882
CITATIONS READS
44 867
1 author:
Bradley Axelrod
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
246 PUBLICATIONS 3,881 CITATIONS
SEE PROFILE
All content following this page was uploaded by Bradley Axelrod on 11 March 2014.
Abstract
The administration times for each of the subtests from the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-III
(WAIS-III) and Wechsler Memory Scale-III (WMS-III) were recorded for a clinical sample of 81
patients. The findings revealed that the time needed to administer the WAIS-III subtests to generate
the summary scores, index scores, and both scores were 58, 51, and 65 min, respectively. The time
required to complete the primary subtests on the WMS-III was 21, 15, and 6 min for Immediate
Memory, General Memory, and Working Memory, respectively, resulting in a total administration
time of 42 min. The time necessary to administer most of the subtests was unrelated to age,
education, or performance level. These data demonstrate a shorter than expected administration
time for the WAIS-III and a longer than anticipated administration for the WMS-III. Results for
other clinical settings will be impacted by examiner familiarity and patient composition. D 2001
National Academy of Neuropsychology. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.
Keywords: Administration duration; Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-III; Wechsler Memory Scale-III
1. Introduction
Table 1
Means and standard deviations of WAIS-III and WMS-III summary and index
Variable Mean Standard deviation
WAIS-III summary scores
Verbal IQ 88.6 12.0
Performance IQ 84.8 13.4
Full Scale IQ 85.9 12.8
is composed of Letter±Number Sequencing and Spatial Span. There are additional subtests,
including Orientation, Word List learning, and Visual Reproduction, that are supplemental.
The WMS-III manual (Wechsler, 1997c) estimates that actual administration time for the
primary subtests is 30 to 35 min, which takes into account the 30-min delay between
Logical Memory I and II. The administration of all of the supplemental subtests was
estimated to take 15 to 20 min of actual testing time. Together, administration of the
complete WMS-III should take 45 to 55 min.
The present study sought to provide information regarding the administration time for the
primary subtests, summary scores, and index scores for the WAIS-III and WMS-III in a
clinical sample. This project will serve as a possible replication of the study by Ryan et al.
(1998) vis-a-vis the WAIS-III, but it is a unique opportunity to provide the initial adminis-
tration time data for the WMS-III.
2. Method
2.1. Participants
Table 2
Means and standard deviations of administration duration for WAIS-III subtests
Variable Mean Standard deviation
Verbal subtests
Vocabulary 5.7 2.8
Similarities 3.6 2.0
Arithmetic 5.4 2.3
Digit Span 3.6 1.5
Information 4.2 2.2
Comprehension 6.1 2.4
Performance subtests
Picture Completion 3.8 1.8
Digit Symbol 3.3 1.4
Block Design 10.4 2.9
Matrix Reasoning 5.3 3.8
Picture Arrangement 7.3 2.4
Supplemental subtests
Symbol Search 2.9 0.8
Letter ± Number Sequencing 3.5 1.4
had 12.1 (SD = 2.3) years of education. Slightly less than 54% of the sample was White (46%
Black) and 88% were right-handed.
The mean performance, as demonstrated by summary and index scores, for the
WAIS-III and WMS-III appear in Table 1. As can be seen, the mean performance on
the WAIS-III summary and index scores fell in the low average range. VIQ scores are
significantly higher than PIQ scores (t(80) = 3.6, p = 0.001). Verbal Comprehension
was significantly higher than Processing Speed, but no other differences were noted
among the index scores (t(80) = 3.2, p = 0.002). On the WMS-III, the sample's score
on Immediate Memory fell in the borderline range, whereas delayed General Memory
was significantly higher (t(80) = 5.0, p 0.001), falling in the low end of the low
average range. Working Memory on the WMS-III was comparable to WAIS-III
performance, which was significantly higher than Immediate Memory performance
(t(80) = 5.1, p 0.001).
2.2. Procedure
The WAIS-III and WMS-III were administered according to the standardized proce-
dures outlined in their respective manuals (Wechsler, 1997b,c). The subtests were
administered in order. Two subtests, Object Assembly from the WAIS-III and Visual
Reproduction from the WMS-III were not included, as they were not administered as part
of the clinical evaluation. The start and stop times for each subtest from the WAIS-III and
WMS-III were recorded at the time of administration. Duration for each subtest was
calculated from these times and rounded to the nearest min. Nearly all of the evaluations
B.N. Axelrod / Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology 16 (2001) 293± 301 297
Table 3
Means and standard deviations of administration duration for WMS-III subtests
Variable Mean Standard deviation
Immediate memory subtests
Logical Memory I 4.5 1.0
Faces I 4.4 0.9
Verbal Paired Assoc I 6.0 1.4
Family Pictures I 5.7 1.6
Supplemental subtests
Orientation 1.6 0.7
Word Lists I 5.8 2.6
Word Lists II 2.0 1.0
3. Results
The mean administration time for each of the WAIS-III and WMS-III subtests appears in
Tables 2 and 3, respectively. Administration times for the summary and index scores for both
WAIS-III and WMS-III appear in Table 4.
On the WAIS-III, the Block Design subtest took the longest to administer; while Picture
Arrangement and Comprehension were the next longest subtests to administer. Total
administration time of the subtests included in VIQ did not differ from that of PIQ. On
the Index scores, Perceptual Organization was the longest factor subtest grouping to
administer, while Processing Speed was the shortest. Verbal Comprehension and Working
Memory indexes were of comparable time length.
The time needed for complete administration of Immediate Memory was approximately 21
min, with the time for auditory and visual tasks evenly split. Administration duration for the
298 B.N. Axelrod / Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology 16 (2001) 293± 301
Table 4
Means and standard deviations of administration duration of WAIS-III and WMS-III summary and index scores
Variable Mean Standard deviation
WAIS-III summary scores
Verbal IQ 28.5 8.8
Performance IQ 30.0 7.6
Full Scale IQ 58.5 14.7
primary subtests of the WMS-III averaged 42 min, while the addition of Orientation and
Word List learning added almost another 10 min.
The frequency distribution for administration times for the primary index and
summary scores from the WAIS-III and WMS-III appear in Table 5. (More detailed
frequency distributions are available from the author.) As expected, the distribution
demonstrates a positive skewing in which longer administration times resulted in a
greater time difference from the mean than shorter administration times. For example,
the time difference from the mean time for FSIQ is 29 min longer for the 95th
percentile, but 15 min shorter for the 5th percentile.
The patient characteristics of age, years of education, WAIS-III summary scores,
WAIS-III index scores, and WMS-III index scores were correlated with administration
time for each of the individual subtests and cluster scores. Given the likelihood of Type I
errors when performing over 700 analyses, a p-value of <0.001 was adopted to insure
significance. This p-value corresponds to a Pearson correlation of 0.366 and accounts for
13.4% of the variance. The overall administration time for the WAIS-III was unrelated
to test performance. However, Verbal Comprehension and Perceptual Organization index
scores were positively correlated with administration duration. Two subtests from the
WAIS-III stood out as having significant relationships with performance or patient
B.N. Axelrod / Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology 16 (2001) 293± 301 299
Table 5
Frequency distribution of administration duration (in min) for WAIS-III and WMS-III summary and index scores
Percentile
Variable 5th 10th 25th 50th 75th 90th 95th
WAIS-III summary scores
Verbal IQ 18 18 22 27 32 43 45
Performance IQ 19 22 25 29 33 39 49
Full Scale IQ 41 43 47 56 64 79 85
WAIS-III summary 46 49 54 63 72 86 96
and index subtests
characteristics. The time to administer Matrix Reasoning was positively correlated with
all of the WAIS-III index and summary scores. This subtest's administration time was
also negatively related to age. Digit Span administration time was positively correlated
with the Verbal Comprehension index and all three summary scores, as well as the
Working Memory index score. The findings for the WMS-III revealed little relationship
between administration time and performance. The only outstanding finding was a
significant positive correlation between Working Memory administration time and
Working Memory performance on the WMS-III.
4. Discussion
The findings from the clinical sample presented in this study revealed administration
durations of the WAIS-III and WMS-III that differ slightly from expectations and from prior
research. On the WAIS-III, administration times of the summary scores, index scores, and
total of all 13 included subtests fell lower than the expectations of the test publisher
(Wechsler, 1997b). In fact, our administration times all fell at or below the low end of the
ranges presented for the WAIS-III. In comparison to the only other study of administration
time of the WAIS-III (Ryan et al., 1998), the length of administration was shorter for all
subtests. The time to administer Vocabulary, Similarities, and Comprehension for the present
300 B.N. Axelrod / Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology 16 (2001) 293± 301
sample was less than half that observed in the previous study. Interestingly, the findings for
overall administration time on the WAIS-III from the present sample fell at the opposite end
of the time range observed by Ryan et al. (1998). Be that as it may, the findings of the prior
and current study seem to agree that the length of administration of the WAIS-III for the
computation of the summary scores are comparable to the time it takes when using the
WAIS-R. In contrast to the manual's estimation that the WMS-III should take 30 to 35 min to
administer (Wechsler, 1997c), the present study revealed times that exceeded the estimation.
Of the present clinical sample, 88% took longer than 35 min to complete the primary subtests
required for the WMS-III, while only 12% fell within that range. Together, it appears that the
WAIS-III and WMS-III, including all of the supplemental tasks, can be administered within
at least 2 h.
In the current climate of managed care and insurance coverage, time constraints are placed
on neuropsychological evaluations. The information from this study might be useful in
creating an appropriate assessment battery that maximizes clinical data while meets whatever
time limitations exist for an assessment. Furthermore, the data for each of the subtests from
the WAIS-III and WMS-III can be used in the evaluation of administration duration for short
forms of these scales.
One interesting finding was the general lack of relationship between test performance and
administration length on the tasks. For most of the subtests, the WAIS-III requires the
examiner to discontinue a subtest after a specific number of consecutive failures. Despite the
reduced number of items obtained by patients who discontinued early, the overall time to
administer the WAIS-III is not impacted by the fewer items. Clinically, we observe patients
who perform more poorly on the WAIS-III to take longer to respond to easier items within a
subtest than patients who perform overall. It appears that there is an ``evening out'' of time
per subtest, as patients of higher functioning respond to more items more quickly than lower
functioning individuals. The exceptions to this pattern were that Matrix Reasoning takes
longer for patients who perform better, and longer Digit Span administration was related to
higher overall performance on a number of measures in which it is included. In contrast to
informal opinions that Matrix Reasoning takes a relatively long time to administer, on the
average it took one-half of the time that was required to administer Block Design.
It is not surprising that administration times in a clinical setting might differ from
guidelines presented in the test manuals. First, the times presented for both the WAIS-III
and WMS-III are based on nonpatient cases included from the standardization sample. The
performance of those individuals may or may not be analogous to patients seen in a clinical
setting. More importantly, both the WAIS-III and WMS-III are made of subtests and items
that were extracted from longer versions of the standardization tests. The projection of
administration times for individual subtests might be affected by the administration of other,
and later deleted, subtests that were included for standardization.
The generalizablility of the present findings to other clinical samples is contingent on some
obvious factors. The relevance of the present administration times is limited by the expertise
of the examiner and the examiner's facility with the materials. It is certainly possible that the
quality of the technician used in our facility is exceptional and her skills may not be observed
in other settings. If, indeed the time of administration is less than that of psychology interns,
fellows, and clinicians, the findings would bolster support for the use of dedicated
B.N. Axelrod / Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology 16 (2001) 293± 301 301
Acknowledgments
The author wishes to express his gratitude to Elizabeth Lopez for her painstaking test
administration and accurate time keeping for the purpose of this publication. I also thank
Rodney D. Vanderploeg for his careful review and thoughtful comments regarding an earlier
draft of this manuscript.
References
Axelrod, B. N., Greve, K. W., & Goldman, R. S. (1994). Comparison of Four Wisconsin Card Sorting Test
scoring instructions. Assessment 1, 115 ± 121.
Ryan, J. J., Lopez, S. J., & Werth, T. R. (1998). Administration time estimates for WAIS-III subtests, scales,
and short forms in a clinical sample. J Psychoeduc Assess 16, 315 ± 323.
Ryan, J. J., & Rosenberg, S. J. (1984). Administration time estimates for WAIS-R subtests and short forms
in a clinical sample. J Psychoeduc Assess 2, 125 ± 129.
Ward, L. C., Selby, R. B., & Clark, B. L. (1987). Subtest administration times and short forms of the
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised. J Clin Psychol 18, 276 ± 278.
Wechsler, D. (1939). Wechsler ± Bellevue Intelligence Scale. New York: Psychological Corporation.
Wechsler, D. (1945). A standardized memory scale for clinical use. J Psychol 19, 87 ± 95.
Wechsler, D. (1981). Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised. San Antonio, TX: Psychological
Corporation.
Wechsler, D. (1987). Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised. San Antonio, TX: Psychological Corporation.
Wechsler, D. (1997). WAIS-III WMS-III Technical Manual. San Antonio, TX: Psychological Corporation.
Wechsler, D. (1997). Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (3rd edn.). San Antonio, TX: Psychological
Corporation.
Wechsler, D. (1997). Wechsler Memory Scale (3rd edn.). San Antonio, TX: Psychological Corporation.