Performance of black and white South African children on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised and the Kaufman Assessment Battery

The validity of traditional intelligence tests for cultural groups that dif fer from those for whom the tests were normed has come under scrutiny. This is particularly the case for the previously disadvantaged black majority i n South Africa. The Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC) is repo rtedly a relatively nondiscriminatory test of intellectual functioning. Thi s study compared the performance of 21 black and 35 white third-grade South African children on the K-ABC and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale-Revised (WISC-R) at two schools for children with learning problems. While the WISC -R Verbal and Full Scale IQ of black children were significantly lower than that of whites, there mas no significant difference between these groups o n the K-ABC. Teachers' ratings for white and black pupils were acceptably c oncordant with students' performance on the K-ABC but not on the WISC-R. Su pport is provided for the usefulness of the K-ABC as a relatively nondiscri minatory alternative to the WISC-R for South African children.