Situational Specificity and Generality of Test Behaviors for Samples of Normal and Referred Children

The uses of observations generated during testing were examined through (a) a quantitative synthesis of the available research literature, (b) a study conducted with a nationally representative sample of children (N = 640, including 71 with additional behavioral information), and (c) a study completed with children referred for psychoeducational evaluations (N = 140). Results demonstrated that behavioral and temperament qualities evaluated by test observations are related to children's performance on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children–Third Edition (WISC-III; Wechsler, 1991). Test observations provided considerably less insight into children's adaptation and adjustment outside the test-session environment. IQs from the WISC-III showed limited prediction of classroom behavior, indicating that as much as 97% of the score variation is independent. Findings are examined in light of research on the situational specificity of behavior.