Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment Huge scatter within subtests

DS6 scored very high and very evenly across the WISC subtests but missed a lot of questions within the subtests (I.e. got many questions wrong but not enough to discontinue). What might this mean practically/educationally? We didn't get much of an interpretation from the psych.

Thanks!
U.l.h.

There are many possible interpretations of intrasubtest scatter. Sometimes it reflects intermittent attention or motivation. It could be an artifact of how high he went and how divergent his exposure has been from that of the norm group; where he probably absorbed knowledge on his own, not through conventional instructional experiences, there may be differences in his repertoire compared to the conventional gradation of item difficulty.

What it usually means to me is that the results are a probable low estimate of ability. He is at the very beginning of his formal education. If there are idiosyncratic gaps, they will likely fill in as he receives (one hopes) appropriate instruction. If the above speculation is correct, a retest in two or three years will probably result in higher scores. If the scatter is from something else, like intermittent attention, then addressing the deficits in sustained attention or impulsivity will probably also raise scores on future retests.

I have also had examinees with scatter that appeared to reflect changes in problem-solving strategies as tasks became more challenging. In those cases, simpler methods were used for simpler items, until they began failing, at which point more sophisticated strategies were called into use, but not before a few incorrect responses had been recorded. In order to know if this was the case, the examiner would most likely have had to do some additional inquiry or testing of limits.

A similar situation is when the examinee is slow to pick up the task expectations during the first few items, or at a transition in task complexity. Some very bright children who have executive function deficits will generate this type of pattern, due to weaknesses in the EF known as shift, or flexibility.

Thanks for these insights, aeh. The good news is that his scores are high enough that he qualifies for just about everything including DYS. We won't need to re-test.

The psych mentioned possible ADHD so perhaps that could be the source of the EF deficit. He also may have some sort of verbal processing deficit, again no diagnosis. I guess it makes sense that these could be related to the scatter. Not sure if its worthwhile to pursue additional expensive testing related to these issues.

The scattered performance also happen at school and has made advocacy hard. Teachers assume that because he sometimes gets easy questions wrong (or, more commonly, refuses to answer) that he is not in need of more challenging work.

One way it may be possible to use the scatter on formal testing is in advocacy, especially if the psych is willing to write up some of what he said: it is fairly common for people with EF deficits, and for GT students (and, even more so, for those who are both) to miss easy items (due to lack of attention/engagement), and get more difficult items correct. It's the same phenomenon, essentially, as driving to work instead of your friend's house because you were "on autopilot". The task was too mundane for full mental engagement, which is what led to making a mistake on a very simple task. This happens to everyone, but is amplified with ADHD, because of the EF weaknesses, and in GT, because so many more tasks are easy. If both descriptors apply, it's that much more extreme. The instructional (not pharmacological) solution to this is to program for a very tight match to the zone of proximal development.

As to more testing, I would keep an eye on how he performs in school and life, and keep further testing in your back pocket for if/when you find that he is not compensating efficiently enough on his own. Don't wait too long, though, if you suspect that he is distressed, or developing inaccurate (negative) perceptions of himself. EF is a relatively late-developing skill in many children, and his GT-related asynchrony may exaggerate that, so it could be that, over the next two or three years, he will pick up enough for EF not to be an obstacle. Language processing deficits will become more apparent as passage-level comprehension and extended writing become more significant aspects of formal schooling. It probably won't be much of an issue for a few years yet. Third or fourth grade tends to be one of the first transitions when high-functioning kids with some kind of learning quirk hit a snag.

Thanks aeh! We will aim for "a very tight match to the zone of proximal development". Easier said than done, though, right?

Isn't that the truth!

Ultralight Hiker, I sent you a PM.