Is the Fourth Edition Stanford-Binet a Four-Factor Test? Confirmatory Factor Analyses of Alternative Models for Ages 2 Through 23

Abstract

The Fourth Edition Stanford-Binet is based upon a four-factor hierarchical model of intelligence, and its 15 subtests are partitioned into Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning, Abstract/Visual Reasoning, and Short-Term Memory Scales. Results of recent factor analyses indicate, however, that the factor structure of the new Stanford-Binet does not correspond to the four-factor model proposed by the test authors. Sattler (1988) recently proposed alternative two- and three-factor models for children of different ages and contructed a related scoring system for the Stanford-Binet. The purpose of this study was to determine with confirmatory factor analyses the relative “fit” of the original four-factor model and the alternative factor models proposed by Sattler to data from each age group of the Stanford-Binet standardization sample. Implications of these results with regard to the scoring and interpretation of the new Stanford-Binet are discussed.