Memory for Digit Span

This subtest of the Wechsler (WISC-R) for children ages 7 through 11 measures short-term memory for a series of numbers, some presented in forward and some in reverse order; it is part of the Child Supplement.

Table 6.1. Digit Span: Total Raw Scores by Child Age and Race/Ethnicity (2008 Sample Cases)
Table 6.2. Digit Span: Total Standard Scores by Child Age and Race/Ethnicity (2008 Unweighted Distribution)
Table 6.3. Digit Span: Forward - Raw Scores by Child Age and Race/Ethnicity (2008 Weighted Scores)
Table 6.4. Digit Span: Backward - Raw Scores by Child Age and Race/Ethnicity (2008 Weighted Scores)

Table 6.1 Digit Span: Total Raw Scores by Child Age and Race/Ethnicity (2008 Sample Cases)

  0-4 5-7 8-10 11-13 14-16 17-28 Invalid Valid Total % Valid
AGE OF CHILD 5 19 28 15 1 1 9 69 78 88.5
7 Years
8 Years 5 12 45 26 7 1 16 96 112 85.7
9 Years   10 47 30 11 4 12 102 114 89.5
10 Years 1 6 44 47 33 12 26 143 169 84.6
11 Years 2 5 38 57 30 20 22 152 174 87.4
Total 13 52 202 175 82 38 85 562 647 86.9
RACE OF CHILD AGE OF CHILD 2 5 5 5     2 17 19 89.5
Hispanic 7 Years
8 Years 3 4 11 5     4 23 27 85.2
9 Years   2 10 6 1 1 2 20 22 90.9
10 Years   2 9 10 4 1 7 26 33 78.8
11 Years   1 10 7 4 2 3 24 27 88.9
Total 5 14 45 33 9 4 18 110 128 85.9
Black AGE OF CHILD 2 6 8 3   1 3 20 23 87.0
7 Years
8 Years 2 4 12 3 2   1 23 24 95.8
9 Years   4 8 6 2 1 4 21 25 84.0
10 Years   1 12 12 6 2 7 33 40 82.5
11 Years 2 2 7 13 7 6 4 37 41 90.2
Total 6 17 47 37 17 10 19 134 153 87.6
White AGE OF CHILD 1 8 15 7 1   4 32 36 88.9
7 Years
8 Years   4 22 18 5 1 11 50 61 82.0
9 Years   4 29 18 8 2 6 61 67 91.0
10 Years 1 3 23 25 23 9 12 84 96 87.5
11 Years   2 21 37 19 12 15 91 106 85.8
Total 2 21 110 105 56 24 48 318 366 86.9


Table 6.2 Digit Span: Total Standard Scores by Child Age and Race/Ethnicity (2008 Unweighted Distribution)

  1-4 5-7 8-9 10-11 12-13 14-19 Total Mean Std Dev
AGE OF CHILD 4.3 15.9 26.1 23.2 17.4 13.0 100.0 10.0 3.2
7 Years
8 Years 5.2 12.5 32.3 25.0 12.5 12.5 100.0 9.7 3.1
9 Years 1.0 24.5 30.4 18.6 15.7 9.8 100.0 9.6 2.8
10 Years 2.1 15.4 18.2 23.1 25.9 15.4 100.0 10.8 3.2
11 Years 2.6 17.8 21.7 25.0 19.7 13.2 100.0 10.2 3.2
Total 2.8 17.3 24.7 23.1 19.0 13.0 100.0 10.1 3.1
RACE OF CHILD AGE OF CHILD 5.9 17.6 23.5 11.8 35.3 5.9 100.0 9.8 2.9
Hispanic 7 Years
8 Years 13.0 17.4 26.1 26.1 17.4   100.0 8.5 3.4
9 Years   30.0 30.0 25.0 10.0 5.0 100.0 9.1 2.7
10 Years 3.8 26.9 11.5 26.9 26.9 3.8 100.0 9.9 3.2
11 Years 4.2 29.2 33.3 8.3 16.7 8.3 100.0 9.3 3.3
Total 5.5 24.5 24.5 20.0 20.9 4.5 100.0 9.3 3.1
Black AGE OF CHILD 5.0 20.0 30.0 20.0 15.0 10.0 100.0 9.7 3.8
7 Years
8 Years 8.7 17.4 34.8 21.7 8.7 8.7 100.0 8.9 3.3
9 Years 4.8 19.0 33.3 14.3 19.0 9.5 100.0 9.6 3.1
10 Years 3.0 15.2 21.2 24.2 24.2 12.1 100.0 10.5 3.0
11 Years 5.4 18.9 18.9 21.6 18.9 16.2 100.0 9.9 3.5
Total 5.2 17.9 26.1 20.9 17.9 11.9 100.0 9.8 3.3
White AGE OF CHILD 3.1 12.5 25.0 31.3 9.4 18.8 100.0 10.4 2.9
7 Years
8 Years   8.0 34.0 26.0 12.0 20.0 100.0 10.7 2.7
9 Years   24.6 29.5 18.0 16.4 11.5 100.0 9.8 2.8
10 Years 1.2 11.9 19.0 21.4 26.2 20.2 100.0 11.1 3.2
11 Years 1.1 14.3 19.8 30.8 20.9 13.2 100.0 10.6 3.1
Total 0.9 14.5 24.2 25.2 18.9 16.4 100.0 10.6 3.0


Table 6.3 Digit Span: Forward - Raw Scores by Child Age and Race/Ethnicity (2008 Weighted Scores)

  0-4 5-7 8-9 10-11 12-14 Total Mean Std Dev
AGE OF CHILD 38.5 42.2 18.5 0.8   100.0 5.5 1.9
7 Years
8 Years 24.7 52.5 19.2 3.6   100.0 5.9 1.9
9 Years 30.6 45.6 20.3 3.5   100.0 6.1 1.8
10 Years 10.2 45.6 32.6 9.7 1.8 100.0 7.1 2.1
11 Years 9.4 46.4 26.8 14.5 2.9 100.0 7.3 2.1
Total 19.2 46.5 25.0 7.9 1.3 100.0 6.6 2.1
RACE OF CHILD AGE OF CHILD 60.2 23.9 15.9     100.0 4.8 1.8
Hispanic 7 Years
8 Years 51.4 48.6       100.0 4.5 1.8
9 Years 31.5 65.4 3.1     100.0 5.6 1.4
10 Years 10.6 66.1 20.4 2.9   100.0 6.2 1.6
11 Years 14.2 48.5 26.6 5.3 5.4 100.0 6.8 2.4
Total 31.6 52.2 13.2 1.8 1.1 100.0 5.6 2.0
Black AGE OF CHILD 33.5 55.5 4.8 6.2   100.0 5.3 2.3
7 Years
8 Years 37.7 44.7 13.9 3.7   100.0 5.3 2.0
9 Years 12.9 55.1 25.4 6.6   100.0 6.7 1.8
10 Years 11.2 54.9 29.5 4.3   100.0 6.8 1.9
11 Years 18.9 43.0 24.3 13.9   100.0 6.9 2.1
Total 20.6 50.1 21.8 7.5   100.0 6.4 2.1
White AGE OF CHILD 37.1 41.8 21.1     100.0 5.6 1.9
7 Years
8 Years 20.3 54.0 21.8 3.9   100.0 6.1 1.8
9 Years 32.4 43.2 21.0 3.5   100.0 6.0 1.9
10 Years 10.1 43.1 33.8 10.9 2.1 100.0 7.2 2.1
11 Years 7.9 46.7 27.2 15.0 3.2 100.0 7.4 2.1
Total 18.2 45.7 26.3 8.4 1.5 100.0 6.7 2.1


Table 6.4 Digit Span: Backward - Raw Scores by Child Age and Race/Ethnicity (2008 Weighted Scores)

  0-4 5-7 8-9 10-11 12-14 Total Mean Std Dev
AGE OF CHILD 77.8 22.2       100.0 3.3 1.6
7 Years
8 Years 62.4 34.2 3.5     100.0 4.3 1.5
9 Years 53.3 40.7 4.7 1.3   100.0 4.8 1.6
10 Years 34.6 49.2 13.7 2.0 0.5 100.0 5.4 1.9
11 Years 34.9 49.8 11.9 2.4 1.0 100.0 5.5 1.9
Total 47.3 42.4 8.4 1.5 0.4 100.0 4.9 1.9
RACE OF CHILD AGE OF CHILD 72.2 27.8       100.0 3.4 1.6
Hispanic 7 Years
8 Years 68.7 31.3       100.0 3.7 1.6
9 Years 54.9 42.0 3.1     100.0 4.7 1.5
10 Years 39.3 52.1 5.7 2.9   100.0 5.1 1.7
11 Years 43.8 45.4 10.7     100.0 5.1 1.6
Total 54.5 40.6 4.1 0.7   100.0 4.5 1.8
Black AGE OF CHILD 73.5 26.5       100.0 3.1 1.6
7 Years
8 Years 62.4 37.6       100.0 3.6 1.5
9 Years 74.6 20.2 5.3     100.0 4.2 1.6
10 Years 27.1 59.3 9.2   4.3 100.0 5.5 2.0
11 Years 33.6 46.4 16.3 3.7   100.0 5.5 2.3
Total 47.8 42.0 7.9 1.1 1.2 100.0 4.7 2.1
White AGE OF CHILD 79.1 20.9       100.0 3.3 1.5
7 Years
8 Years 61.7 34.0 4.3     100.0 4.5 1.5
9 Years 51.0 42.8 4.8 1.5   100.0 4.8 1.6
10 Years 35.4 47.6 14.8 2.3   100.0 5.4 1.9
11 Years 34.6 50.4 11.4 2.4 1.1 100.0 5.5 1.9
Total 46.8 42.6 8.7 1.6 0.3 100.0 4.9 1.9