Evaluation of the efficacy off a compu-check-form for reducing computational and clerical errors on WAIS-R protocols

Abstract

A systematic procedure for checking computational and clerical components of scoring (Compu-Check-Form; CCF) was developed and evaluated for the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale - Revised (WAIS-R; Wechsler, 1981). Senior undergraduates and M.A. graduate students were trained to score fictitious WAIS-R protocols. Sixty percent of the students made errors and approximately 30% of the protocols contained errors. These errors frequently resulted in IQ discrepancies. Most IQ inaccuracies were small, although 10% of the summary IQs on protocols with errors deviated between 4 and 12 points. A subsample of the students were also trained to use the CCF. Changes in error rates and corrections to summary IQs also supported the utility of the CCF. In a field trial, 6 of 7 practitioners who used the CCF detected errors on 15 of 47 WAIS-R protocols selected from their clinical files. Methodological issues and implications of the results are discussed.