Shipley Institute for Living Scale and the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test as Screening Instruments for Intelligence

Abstract

This study assessed the comparability and acceptability of two tests used to screen for overall intelligence levels in adults. At issue is whether either of these two tests is preferable for a definable subject population. Participants drawn from college (n = 30) and forensic (n = 50) settings completed the Shipley Institute for Living Scale (SILS), the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test (K-BIT), and the reading section of the Wide Range Achievement Test-Revised (WRAT-R). The correlation between the SILS IQ and the K-BIT IQ scores was .77 for the college sample and .83 for the forensic group, with no significant differences between SILS and K-BIT mean IQ scores within each sample. Reading level also was significantly correlated with SILS and K-BIT IQ scores for both groups. A preference for the SILS over the K-BIT was expressed by two overlapping groups: college students and above average readers, while a majority of the forensic sample and poorer readers chose the K-BIT. Although the SILS and K-BIT yield comparable IQ scores within a sample, clinicians may want to consider the subject's reading ability, educational history, and feelings and attitudes about the assessment situation in deciding which of these two IQ screening tests to utilize.