No offense taken. Of course, you�re right, it is controversial. It sure seems to fit in my son�s case, though.
This other link, that was posted under SB-5 info, seems to support the assertion that, at least WISC-III scores, are markedly higher than SB-5 scores for several (is that conservative enough) previously identified HG students.
I case anyone hasn�t seen the link;
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Gifted+and+highly+gifted+students%3a+how+do+they+score+on+the+SB5%3f-a0150850213
I've thought a lot about this study since I have a kid who has been tested on the SB5 and has a score that is PG by the Ruf/Hoagies scales but is below a 145. I really wanted this study to prove that he "should" have been over a 145 *if* we had the "right" test!
But I don't think it does. There are a lot of factors that go into this score difference.
1) The SB5 was designed to give a score that is about 3-4 points lower than previous tests to compensate for the Flynn effect (the observation that IQ test scores increase over time). I think one of the things that is contraversial is that this effect has not been shown to exist at the tails of the curve.
2)The tests are measuring different kinds of intelligence, different skill, knowledge, processing etc, so a child with the skills to do well on one test might lack the skills to do well on the other. This does not mean that one is more or less smart, just differently smart.
3) Regression to the mean. The statistical principle whereby outlyers on a test tend to get scores closer to the mean when the test is repeated and
4) the kids got older between test 1 and test 2. They may have hit fewer test ceilings on the first test and more ceilings on the second because as they got older they were working at the higher levels of the test.
What we need to really prove the difference (to go along with this study) is the opposite study--the one that tests kids first on the SB5 and then retests the highest scorers on the WISC3. You might confirm that the SB5 consistently gives lower scores. But one might find that the kids that do well on the SB5 don't do as well on the WISC. You just don't know until that study has been done.
I do know that when I discussed all my ideas about why DS's score showed he was PG with the DITD counselor after we had not been accepted, she just said, "well, we have plenty of kids who do score over 145 on the SB5." For those of you applying, though, with an IQ score below the cutoff, keep in mind that we had invalid AT scores (we had thought they were accepted subtests but they weren't). For kids with high enough AT scores, they might look more closely at those close, but not quite, IQ scores.
