SUPPORT FOR ABBREVIATION OF THE WIDE-RANGE ACHIEVEMENT TEST-REVISED SPELLING SUBTEST IN NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENTS

The Wide Range Achievement Test-Revised (Level 2) provides valuable da ta in neuropsychological assessments, but its inclusion is costly in t ime. Although the Reading and Arithmetic subtests are inappropriate fo r abbreviation, the Spelling subtest is unnecessarily lengthy for most clinical needs. In a retrospective study of the reliability of data o btained from split-half and split-third tabulations with mixed psychia tric and forensic subjects, strong correlations were obtained between the split-halves and between split-half and full administration scores . A Spearman-Brown correction of the relationship between the split-ha lves yielded a correlation of .97, higher than that reported for any W AIS-R subtest (Wechsler, 1981). Standard scores generated by split-hal f tabulations were within 10 points of those generated from the comple te raw data in 94.6% of cases; These findings suggest that the Spellin g subtest could be abbreviated in clinical settings with minimal loss of reliability.