Lowered cutoffs to reduce false positives on the Word Memory Test.

Abstract

Objective: To adjust the decision criterion for the Word Memory Test (WMT, Green, 2003) to minimize the frequency of false positives.

Method: Archival data were combined into a database (n = 3,210) to examine the best cut score for the WMT. We compared results based on the original scoring rules and those based on adjusted scoring rules using a criterion based on 16 performance validity tests (PVTs) exclusive of the WMT. Cutoffs based on peer-reviewed publications and test manuals were used. The resulting PVT composite was considered the best estimate of validity status. We focused on a specificity of .90 with a false-positive rate of less than .10 across multiple samples.

Results: Each examinee was administered the WMT, as well as on average 5.5 (SD = 2.5) other PVTs. Based on the original scoring rules of the WMT, 31.8% of examinees failed. Using a single failure on the criterion PVT (C-PVT), the base rate of failure was 45.9%. When requiring two or more failures on the C-PVT, the failure rate dropped to 22.8%. Applying a contingency analysis (i.e., X²) to the two failures model on the C-PVT measure and using the original rules for the WMT resulted in only 65.3% agreement. However, using our adjusted rules for the WMT, which consisted of relying on only the IR and DR WMT subtest scores with a cutoff of 77.5%, agreement between the adjusted and the C-PVT criterion equaled 80.8%, for an improvement of 12.1% identified. The adjustmeny resulted in a 49.2% reduction in false positives while preserving a sensitivity of 53.6%. The specificity for the new rules was 88.8%, for a false positive rate of 11.2%.

Conclusions: Results supported lowering of the cut score for correct responding from 82.5% to 77.5% correct. We also recommend discontinuing the use of the Consistency subtest score in the determination of WMT failure.