Educational attainment is an important factor in the interpretation of
cognitive test scores but years of education are not necessarily
synonymous with educational quality among racial/ethnic minority
populations. This study investigated the comparability of educational
attainment with reading level and examined whether discrepancies in
education and reading level accounted for differences in
neuropsychological test performance between HIV+ racial/ethnic
minority and nonminority participants. Study participants (N =
200) were derived from the Manhattan HIV Brain Bank (MHBB) where 50% of
the cohort had ≤8th grade reading level but only 5% had ≤8 years of
education. Significantly lower reading ability and education was found
among African Americans and Hispanics, and these participants were more
likely to have discrepant reading and education levels compared to
non-Hispanic Whites. Discrepancy in reading and education level was
associated with worse neuropsychological performance while
racial/ethnic minority status was not. As years of schooling
overestimated racial/ethnic minority participants' educational
quality, standard norms based on education may inflate impairment rates
among racial/ethnic minorities. Identifying appropriate normative
standards is and will continue to be important in the detection of
cognitive impairment in racial/ethnic minorities with HIV.
(JINS, 2005, 11, 889–898.)