Buletin Kesihatan Masyarakat, 1(1):1997

Validity of McCarthy Scale of Children Ability (MSCA) As

Instrument to Measuring Intelligent Quotient of Young
Children in Malaysia

1
Shamsul BS, 1 Zailina H, 2 Jamal HH and 3Rohani A

1
Department of Nutrition and Community Health, Faculty of Biomedical and Health
Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.
2
Department of Community Health, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan
Raja Muda Abdul Aziz, 50300 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
3
Dept of Family Studies and Child Development, Faculty of Human Ecology, Universiti Putra
Malaysia 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia

Abstract

The objectives of this study are to test the applicability and reliability of the McCarthy Scales of
Children’s Abilities (MSCA) as a measurement of intelligent quotient (IQ) among Malaysian
children of Malay descent. A total of 212 children from 4 primary schools located in Kuala
Lumpur and Terengganu were selected for this study through stratified random sampling
according to age and sex. The selected students were subjected to the McCarthy Scales of
Children’s Abilities (MSCA) IQ test battery. The test battery is divided into 6 scales such as
Verbal, Perceptual -Performance, Quantitative, Memory, Motor and General Cognitive. The
Verbal, Perceptual-Performance and, Quantitative do not overlap in content and when they are
added together, they form the General Cognitive Index which reflects on the children’s general
intelligence . The (MSCA) IQ Test was translated from English to Malay language and some of
the examples in the test were adapted to the local situations. The results on 18 tests which made
up the 5 scales showed good reliability since the alpha values were greater than 70% for all the
children tested or when are grouped into schools or study areas.

Keywords: School children, McCarthy Scales of Children’s Abilities Test, reliability test,
intelligent quotient (IQ).