Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment Applying to Young Scholars with a WISC V score

Hi- DD8 just completed the WISC V and obtained a GAI of 143 at 99.8% and a FISQ of 140 at 99.6% (lowered by high average processing speed - which may have been our fault since we tell her not to rush). My understanding is that this is the first year of the WISC V and there is a "Flynn effect" with the new versions in which the scores will be lower than those tested later on. I did see the Young Scholar scores are for 145 for admission. Is any consideration given to the first year of the WISC V scores? Our child would greatly benefit from this program. Thank you.

I doubt that Davidson will tell you straight out that they will accept lower WISC V scores since WISC V scores are presumably the accurate current norms whereas the WISC IV norms have been inflated for a while now. However, I have heard that many YS tested near the minimum scores plus some applicants have been accepted with scores below the minimum in the past. This suggests to me that there would be some flexibility for scores close to the minimum and which correlate with currrent norms. After all, a 143 GAI on the V should be at least as high as a 145 GAI on the IV.

The application process doesn't take that long so it's worth the effort. By the way, I think Davidson tries to be inclusive. You only need one score (I.Q OR Achievement) and you only need a single index score (rather than FSIQ or Composite scores). For the WISC V, you can also get in with just two of the following three subscores: Verbal Comprehension, Visual Spatial and Fluid Reasoning; it may be worth it to double check to see if your DD meets the minimum that way. Since your DD is 8, you can also have her take the Explore and qualify through Achievement. Two of my kids took it at that age and didn't find it that onerous - it's four 30 minutes sections of an out-of-level paper/pencil test.

Good luck and go for it.

I can't speak for how the committee makes these decisions, but on the qualifications page where it outlines supplemental information they state: "Information included here will not add substantially to the review committee’s decision, nor override test scores that fall significantly below the Minimum Score Guidelines listed above." This might lead one to believe that they will consider scores below 145 if the difference isn't "significant." Granted, it depends on their definition of "significantly."

It doesn't hurt to apply and see where that gets you. If you feel there are specific benefits that would be most helpful to you, be sure to mention those and why you think they would be helpful in the application process (they ask).

I would agree that it does not hurt to apply. I have wondered whether Davidson might be more strict about meeting their minimums now that they no longer require both IQ and achievement scores, but as others have pointed out, there are numerous ways to qualify. I am sure that the folks at Davidson have a good "feel" for how the WISC V is comparing to the WISC IV since they review many applications.

Best of luck!

Lisadc, I am pm'ing you.

I also have no idea what the policy of DITD is, but would agree that it can't hurt to try. And Quantum is correct, it's the old WISC-IV scores that are actually inflated, not the new WISC-V scores that are depressed. There is also something called a confidence interval, which reflects presumptive measurement error. A reasonable approach would be to consider any score with a confidence interval that includes the cutoff score. (In this case, scores within about 10-12 points, which is roughly the width of the 95% confidence interval.)

Thank you for all the replies- we will look into the explorer test as well and then move forward. Thank you!

My son was accepted as a YS with a FSIQ on the WISC-V of 144. However, he was brought down a lot by his processing speed which was only 103. His subscores on Verbal Comprehension, Visual Spatial and Fluid Reasoning qualified him.

What were your subscores? You only need two in the qualifying range. I believe they changed this to accommodate PG 2e children.