ROLE OF INTELLIGENCE-TESTS IN SPEECH LANGUAGE REFERRALS/

This study examined the relation of tile WISC-R Verbal IQ with measure s of oral and written language among 190 students referred ro a privat e educational clinic over a 5-yr. period. Correlations of Verbal IQ wi th scores on measures of oral language, written language, receptive la nguage, reading comprehension, and basic reading skills were calculate d for the total sample and by Grades 1-3, 4-7, and 8-11. Standard regr ession coefficients were used to estimate the proportion of variance e xplained by these five measures. Significant correlations were found f or Verbal IQ with the measures, ranging from .36 (Basic Reading Skills ) to .69 (Receptive Vocabulary). Multiple regression indicated that 59 % of the variance was explained by the five measures and that three-Or al Language, Receptive Vocabulary, and Reading Comprehension-contribut ed significantly to Verbal IQ. Correlations across grades showed incon sistent differences by grade for Verbal IQ with language variables. Im plications for speech-language referral practices are discussed.