Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment Testing Question KABC-2

New comer here. I have spent the last couple of days using the search feature to answer some questions and try to absorb some information. If someone might have some insight to a couple of questions I have been struggling with I would love to hear from you.

My 7 year old was given the kbit2 assessment at her school to see if she might meet the requirements for further testing for gifted program. She received a 125 score. She was then giving the RIAS-2 by school psychologist and her score from that was a 116. This indicated that she did not meet the requirements. Several parents advised me to seek outside assessment because of their negative experiences with testing with the school district. So a couple of months later we had her tested privately and the psychologist used the KABC-2 assessment. One this test her index score was 158.

I understand that not all test are exactly equal, but I am just so confused about the wide range of index scores. Maybe the random pulling from class and rushed testing at school?

Any insight and/or feedback would be great if you have it.

Thank you.

Welcome!

There are many reasons children may test differently on different tests and occasions. Among them:
1. The KBIT-2 is a screener, not a comprehensive assessment like the KABC-2. Similarly, the RIAS-2, though billed as a comprehensive, really isn't.
2. Young children vary widely in their attention, stamina, and familiarity with the testing situation. In addition to local conditions, their rapport with examiners also has a more significant effect on performance than on that of older children.
3. They also experience growth spurts (cognitively, in addition to physically), which may or may not line up with the moment in time at which testing occurs.

In sum, the comprehensive KABC-2 is more likely to be an accurate measure than either of the brief assessments, though the other two do provide some data to keep in mind.