Construct validity of the Kaufman assessment battery for children with learning disabled and mentally retarded

This study investigated the construct validity of the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC) via correlational procedures with the WISC-R. Thirty-two special population children selected from kindergarten through grade five participated in the study; 19 children were diagnosed as learning disabled, 13 as educable mentally retarded. A high relationship between the WISC-R FSIQ and the K-ABC Mental Processing composite revealed evidence of construct validity in the measurement of intelligence. The K-ABC diagnosed the learning disabled but failed to diagnose the mentally retarded children. The K-ABC Sequential Processing Scale appeared to offer a unique construct (analytic, temporal sequencing) not measured by the WISC-R. Implications for the usefulness of the K-ABC are discussed.