The Fagan Test of Infant Intelligence: Predictive Validity in a Random Sample

Abstract

The predictive validity of The Fagan Test of Infant Intelligence was investigated in a random sample of 100 boys and 96 girls from two Norwegian cities. Infants were assessed on the Fagan test between the ages of 7 to 9 months A follow-up at 5 years included the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence-Revised (WPPSI–R) and three subtests from the Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Abilities (ITPA). Low internal consistency of the Fagan test was found, with alphas of .10 and .02 for the two study sites. Fagan test-score correlated significantly with WPPSI–Verbal IQ and with scores on ITPA Auditory Reception for both samples, but the mean correlation was as low as .22. The prediction was not significantly higher for infants tested before 8 months of age than for those tested later. The study raises questions about use of the Fagan test as a screening tool in a nonrisk population.