Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment A large gap in IQ subset scores-what does it mean?

My son is 6 and a half years old and is in 1st grade.
We just received his IQ group test scores:
Verbal: 109, Quanitative: 129, and NonVerbal: 150
It was a group test and we don't know the exact testing method. A letter from school implies that he might have maxed out the highest possible NonVerbal score. School will do further testing to see if he is highly gifted - individual testing or smaller group testing, I am not sure.

There is a 41-point gap between nonVerbal (150) and verbal (109) scores. The gap is big. Some say that a gap like this can indicate learning disabilities. What does this gap tell us?

Those sound like CogAT scores - was that the test? If not, which one?

It could be anything from a learning disability to a kid tuning out during part of the test. In general, people here have not found the CogAT to be a very reliable instrument, if that's what he took.

I may be wrong, but in reading posts I formed the impression that those who did not like the CogAT were generally parents whose children did not do well with the timed aspect... the lower CogAT scores of these children were mirrored in lower Processing Speed Index (PSI) and/or lower Working Memory Index (WMI) on Welscher tests.

Our EG ds did not do well on the CogAT Verbal in spite of having an accommodation of having the questions read out loud to him and *not* being timed on it - the issue was outside-the-box thinking when he answered the questions. There were also questions on the CogAT verbal that required "learned" knowledge that he hadn't been exposed to. He's a kid who scores extremely high on other types of verbal ability tests, including the verbal portion of the WISC, but he only scored in the 72nd or so percentile on the CogAT verbal. When he got the "low" score on the CogAT I did a bit of research online, and found there were quite a few other HG/+ kids who had the same type of scoring pattern - presumably from the same type of outside-the-box reasoning.

polarbear

ps - to the OP - I wouldn't worry about the gap in non-verbal vs verbal yet. I would ask the tester if you can have any further details re subtest scores etc, and if the tester observed any signs of boredom, tiredness, inability to complete tasks etc on the verbal part. Since their will be further testing done, you'll have a chance to see if this one low score was random or part of a pattern. If it is part of a pattern of low verbal - then I'd think through, do you see any signs of struggle or challenge at school that might relate to it? I'm guessing you most likely don't though, and it's most likely just one random relatively lower score.

DD took the CogAT and it was the other way around, she did well on the verbal section because she finished it, and the worst on the quantitative section because she left half of that section blank. She has processing speed issues/ADHD. I had to make about 10 phone calls/emails but the district ultimately "spoiled" those records (took them out) and put in her WISC instead which showed the opposite--she is highest in non-verbal and her achievement test scores show her math ability to be higher than reading so at least now it makes sense.

The teacher at the beginning of the year saw the CogAT scores and ridiculous "profile" showing her to be very strong in verbal ability and weak in non-verbal/quantitative. Of course the teacher wasn't clued into the fact that she left half the test blank on the quantitative and non-verbal sections. She was actually going to plan curriculum based on that test, thinking that DD must be really advanced in reading and not-so-good with math! Scary! It's actually math that she is strongest in. It really bothers me that so many districts are giving this test, and the huge gaps that people are seeing. If there is such a big gap the test should be invalidated. If you can get a score report, you may be able to find out how many questions were answered. Some versions of the CogAT (third grade and above?) are timed. DD was in second grade and had just turned 7, but was given the third grade timed version. I didn't know it was timed, or wouldn't have given permission for it. I'm glad to hear they are going to do more testing. Hopefully they will put those results in place of the CogAT (or whatever test it was, if it wasn't the CogAT).

The problem with the CogAT is that it's a crazily short group administered test. If the kid is distracted by the kid next to them and miss a question or two their score will plummet.

Thanks everyone!! Your posts are very helpful!
I will contact the district to find out which test was given - I didn't realize how important this is to know.

The good news is they are using it as a screener and are doing additional testing, and that they know/care what highly gifted is.