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. 1985 Nov;90(3):236-44.

Wechsler Intelligence Tests: do we really have a criterion of mental retardation?

J R Flynn
  • PMID: 4083304

Wechsler Intelligence Tests: do we really have a criterion of mental retardation?

J R Flynn. Am J Ment Defic. 1985 Nov.

Abstract

The definition of mental retardation offered by the American Association on Mental Deficiency refers to an IQ of approximately 70 or below. This is identical to the Wechsler criterion of a test performance two standard deviations (SDs) below the population mean. In fact, Wechsler tests have not supplied such a criterion, rather they have deviated from it by anything from .27 to a full SD. Having done without such a criterion for 40 years, we should consider exchanging it for one that is fixed in time and whose external validity is attested to by an accumulated body of evidence.

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