WISC-IV and Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test Indicators of Specific Learning Disorder and Discrepant Academic Achievement

Though several studies have been undertaken to explore the correlates of academic achievement, there is a dearth of studies relating to the cognitive profiles of children who show marked discrepancies between their cognitive potential and actual academic achievement. The present study was undertaken in this context. The study was conducted on a sample of 308 students in the age range of 12-16 years, drawn from different schools in Kerala, India. The participants belonged to four groups, that is, Underachievers, Normal achievers, Overachievers, and those with Specific Learning Disorders (SLD). WISC-IV India and Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT) were used for assessing cognitive functions. Results indicated that the SLD group could be discriminated from the other three groups in terms of Digit span, Letter-Number sequencing, Working Memory Index, and Processing Speed Index. Further, a retention score obtained from RAVLT could discriminate between the SLD and UA groups. Discriminant analysis of the variables resulted in the extraction of two significant functions composed of three variables of WISC and two variables of RAVLT. The results indicated that the different groups of scholastically backward children, though similar in their overall IQ, had distinct and characteristic cognitive profiles.