Shipley Institute of Living Scale
by Walter C. Shipley, Ph.D.

    This popular measure of intellectual ability and impairment has been used with millions of individuals 14 years of age and older. The Scale is composed of two brief subtests: (1) a 40-item Vocabulary Test that requires the respondent to choose which of four listed words "means the same or nearly the same" as a specified target word; and (2) a 20-item Abstract Thinking Test, which requires the respondent to fill in numbers or letters that logically complete a given sequence.

    The Shipley is based on clinical and research findings suggesting that intellectual impairment differentially affects various cognitive abilities--vocabulary has proven relatively resistant to change, whereas abstract thinking has been shown to be more susceptible to cognitive deterioration associated with brain dysfunction, mental disorders, or normal aging. The Shipley measures the discrepancy between vocabulary and abstract concept formation, providing a useful measure of cognitive impairment. In addition, it is widely used as a convenient intelligence measure because it is self-administering and brief (each subtest has a 10-minute time limit), and can be individually or group administered.

    The Scale produces six summary scores:

    The Manual provides standard scores, updated norms (ages 16 and up), a new impairment index with empirically derived corrections for age and education, age-adjusted norms for estimating WAIS and WAIS-R IQs, and a complete review of the Shipley literature.

    In addition, the WPS AutoScore^TM Test Form makes administration and scoring very easy. The examinee marks his or her answers on the top sheet of this convenient carbonized form. When the top sheet is removed, correct answers and scoring instructions appear alongside the examinee's responses. Handy look-up tables are also printed on the form, so you can quickly determine the Abstraction Quotient and estimated WAIS or WAIS-R IQ.

    Using the Shipley Disk, you can administer, score, and interpret the test on your own computer. You won't have to worry about timing the subtests because the computer will do it for you. If you prefer, you can administer the paper-and-pencil format and then enter the item responses or raw scale scores obtained by hand scoring the test. The program will generate a comprehensive report that summarizes test results and provides useful interpretive information, such as protocol validity; profile of T-scores; 68% confidence intervals for Vocabulary, Abstraction, and Total Scores; a narrative discussion of the results with associated interpretive hypotheses; and estimated Full Scale WAIS and WAIS-R IQ scores.

    The Shipley is one of those rare instruments that has withstood the test of time, and its growing use testifies to its value as a quick yet accurate measure of general intellectual functioning.