Cross-Cultural Studies with the
K-ABC and K-ABC II
Click on a country to read about developing research using the K-ABC from around the world.
In addition to the K-ABC's theoretical underpinnings, its fairness in assessing children from diverse minority groups has made it stand out above other tests, such as those developed from the Binet-Wechsler tradition. The size of group differences on tests of cognitive ability between white children and minority children is thought to reflect, in part, the cultural fairness of a test. Tests such as the Wechsler scales have typically yielded differences of about 15-16 points in favor of white children versus African American children, but the K-ABC cut those differences in half (Kaufman & Kaufman, 1983). Numerous research studies have shown that Latino/ Latina children and Native American children also tended to score higher on the K-ABC than on conventional measures, resulting in reduced differences in scores between white and minority children (e.g., Campbell, Bell, & Keith, 2001; Davidson, 1992; Fourqurean, 1987; Valencia, Rankin, & Livingston, 1995; Vincent, 1991; Whitworth & Chrisman, 1987). Thus, the K-ABC has been recognized internationally as a more culture-fair assessment of diverse groups of children. Consequently, numerous international studies have used the K-ABC in the cognitive assessment of children from around the world.
References
Campbell, J. M., Bell, S. K., & Keith, L. K. (2001). Concurrent validity of the Peabody
Picture Vocabulary Test 3rd Edition as an intelligence and achievement screener
for low SES African American children. Assessment, 8, 85, 94.
Davidson, K. L. (1992). A comparison of Native American and White students cognitive
strengths as measured by the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children. Roeper
Review, 14, 111-115.
Fourqurean, J. M. (1987). A K-ABC and WISC-R comparison for Latino learning
disabled children of limited English proficiency. Journal of School Psychology,
25, 5-21.
Kaufman, A. S. & Kaufman, N. L. (1983). K-ABC interpretive manual. Circle Pines,
MN: American Guidance Service
Valencia, R. R., Rankin, R. J., & Livingston, R. (1995). K-ABC content bias:
Comparisons between Mexican American and White children. Psychology in the
Schools, 32, 153-169
Vincent, K. R. (1991). Black/White IQ differences: Does age make the difference? Journal
of Clinical Psychology, 47, 266-270.
Whitworth, R. H., & Chrisman, S. M. (1987). Validation of the Kaufman Assessment
Battery for Children comparing Anglo and Mexican-American preschoolers.
Educational and Psychological Measurement, 47, 695-702.
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