Accounting for Native/non-Native differences in IQ scores

Verbal and Performance WISC-R subscale scores were collected from 691 Native and 234 non-Native children in Grades 2 and 4. Samples were drawn from each of four sites in North America: Northern Woodlands, Plains, Northwest coast, and Southwest Desert. Native children had substantially lower IQ scores than non-Native, the difference especially pronounced for the Verbal subscale. Biopsychosocial variables including maternal and child health, socioeconomic status, parental attitudes toward school and toward cultural separation, and children's English-language skills accounted for 67% of the Native/non-Native difference on the Performance subscale and 57% of the Verbal subscale score difference. Implications for understanding Native/non-Native IQ score differences and for interventions to promote Native children's academic success are discussed.