Date of Award

2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Psychology (Ph.D.)

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Dawn Flanagan

Second Advisor

Marlene Sotelo-Dynega

Third Advisor

Samuel Ortiz

Abstract

Cognitive ability assessments are central to psychoeducational evaluations, informing decisions regarding interventions and supports for students. While cognitive assessment theories have historically emphasized quantitative data in score interpretation, they have increasingly reflected the need to consider qualitative information, a longstanding tenet of neuropsychological assessment. Frameworks such as the Integrated School Neuropsychology/Cattell-Horn-Carroll (SNP/CHC) Model and the Cognitive Hypothesis Testing (CHT) Model emphasize the importance of analyzing subtest task demands and task characteristics to explain unexpected score discrepancies. Despite these recommendations, little is known about school psychologists’ familiarity with these analyses and their use in the interpretation of test performance. This study examined the extent to which school psychologists integrate task demands and task characteristics when interpreting subtest performance on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fifth Edition (WISC-V). Participants (N = 80) completed a survey in which they were randomly assigned two WISC-V case vignettes with discrepant subtest scaled scores within a Primary Index (e.g., a discrepancy between the Vocabulary and Similarities scaled scores that comprise the Verbal Comprehension Index). For each vignette, participants selected from a list of task demands and task characteristics the ones they believed contributed to the discrepant performance based on the information provided in the vignette. From the endorsed task demands and task characteristics, participants indicated which one(s) had the most impact. Participants also reported their familiarity with the Integrated SNP/CHC and CHT Models, their use of those frameworks during interpretation, and their familiarity and comfort with the WISC-V. Ordinal logistic regression analyses indicated that participants familiar with both frameworks had significantly higher odds of accurately identifying the most relevant task demand and task characteristic influences. In contrast, reported framework usage and WISC-V familiarity/comfort did not consistently predict accuracy. These findings highlight the subjective nature of qualitative interpretation and that framework familiarity alone does not ensure consistent or accurate understanding and application of that framework. Results underscore the need for more targeted training in framework-driven interpretation related to qualitative interpretation techniques, specifically surrounding how task characteristics influence performance. Additionally, it highlights the need for more structured methods for evaluating qualitative interpretation accuracy in applied practice.

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