IQ Subtest Analysis: Clinical Acumen or Clinical Illusion?

Abstract

Subtest analysis is pervasive in psychological training and practice. That is, the speculation that the variability or pro­ file of an individual's scaled scores across the subtests of an intelligence test have meaning beyond that provided by global IQ measures. A review of subtest analysis research revealed that neither subtest scatter nor subtest profiles demonstrate acceptable accuracy in discriminating among diagnostic groups. The evidence that exists regarding rela­ tions between subtest profiles and socially important academic and psychosocial outcomes is, at best, weak: subtest pro­ file information contributes 2% to 8% variance beyond general ability to the prediction of achievement and 2% to 3% to the prediction of learning behaviors and test-session behaviors. Hypothesized relationships between subtest profiles and other psychosocial behaviors persistently fail to achieve statistical or clinical significance. Methodological prob­ lems in research and practice that cause subtest analysis results to be more illusory than real and to represent more of a shared professional myth than clinically astute detective work are explicated.

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