Home › Research › Disparities
Reading level attenuates differences in neuropsychological test performance between African American and White elders
Manly JJ, Jacobs DM, Touradji P, Small SA, Stern Y.. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society : JINS, 2002-03-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
The current study sought to determine if discrepancies in quality of education could explain differences in cognitive test scores between African American and White elders matched on years of education. A comprehensive neuropsychological battery was administered to a sample of African American and non-Hispanic White participants in an epidemiological study of normal aging and dementia in the Northern Manhattan community. All participants were diagnosed as nondemented by a neurologist, and had no history of Parkinson's disease, stroke, mental illness, or head injury. The Reading Recognition subtest from the Wide Range Achievement Test-Version 3 was used as an estimate of quality of education. A MANOVA revealed that African American elders obtained significantly lower scores than Whites on measures of word list learning and memory, figure memory, abstract reasoning, fluency, and visuospatial skill even though the groups were matched on years of education. However, after adjusting the scores for WRAT-3 reading score, the overall effect of race was greatly reduced and racial differences on all tests (except category fluency and a drawing measure) became nonsignificant. These findings suggest that years of education is an inadequate measure of the educational experience among multicultural elders, and that adjusting for quality of education may improve the specificity of certain neuropsychological measures.
Key findings
- A MANOVA revealed that African American elders obtained significantly lower scores than Whites on measures of word list learning and memory, figure memory, abstract reasoning, fluency, and visuospatial skill even though the groups were matched on years of education.
- However, after adjusting the scores for WRAT-3 reading score, the overall effect of race was greatly reduced and racial differences on all tests (except category fluency and a drawing measure) became nonsignificant.
- These findings suggest that years of education is an inadequate measure of the educational experience among multicultural elders, and that adjusting for quality of education may improve the specificity of certain neuropsychological measures.
Why it matters
This study found that reading level, used as a measure of education quality, largely explained cognitive test score differences between African American and White elders matched on years of education. It concerns how tests are interpreted, not any treatment, cure or prevention.
New to this subject? Start with our plain-English guide: Disparities →
Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 49/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society : JINS) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society: journal h-index 176 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2002 — older than 20 years, still counted |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 6 / 7 | Cited 612 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 4 / 5 | 23.5 citations a year over 26 year(s) since 2002 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 7.1× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 3 / 6 | Cited by 19 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 77 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Yaakov Stern: h-index 162 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | Columbia University: institution h-index 1,824 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 11939693) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 49 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
- DOI: 10.1017/s1355617702813157
- PubMed: 11939693
- Original source →
- Free full text: Columbia Academic Commons (Columbia University) →
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Manly, J. J., Jacobs, D. M., Touradji, P., Small, S. A., & Stern, Y. (2002). Reading level attenuates differences in neuropsychological test performance between African American and White elders. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society : JINS. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1355617702813157
Vancouver
Manly JJ, Jacobs DM, Touradji P, Small SA, Stern Y. Reading level attenuates differences in neuropsychological test performance between African American and White elders. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society : JINS. 2002. doi:10.1017/s1355617702813157. PMID: 11939693.
BibTeX
@article{manly2002-11939693,
author = {Manly, J. J. and Jacobs, D. M. and Touradji, P. and Small, S. A. and Stern, Y.},
title = {{Reading level attenuates differences in neuropsychological test performance between African American and White elders}},
journal = {Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society : JINS},
year = {2002},
doi = {10.1017/s1355617702813157},
pmid = {11939693},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1017/s1355617702813157}
}
Studies this one cites
Referenced by this study and also in the alzhub library, so you can read them here.
Later studies that cite this one
19 studies in the alzhub library list this one in their references. Showing the 8 highest-scoring.