Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment Can I skip the WMI and PSI altogether?

I will soon have my 8 year old son take the WISC IV. Does he even need to take the WMI and PSI if they are not needed to calculate his GAI? I'm thinking that skipping the unneeded sections will save time and therefore $.

Also, what would be the best achievement test for a mathematically gifted 8 year old boy?

Personally, I would not skip them. While the GAI is useful, I think having the entire picture is best. We have kids here w/ very high GAIs but with avg, high avg PSI and/or WMI and these kids remarkably are quite similar in some areas. I do think those subtests impact learning. For ex: a friend's DD has a PSI of 150. The psych said she had never seen a PSI so high and that it explains why this DD is phenomenal on the soccer field b/c she processes information so quickly and is able to act on it immediately. I think a kid w/ FSIQ=GAI of 149 may look different from a kid w/ FSIQ=134 and GAI of 149.

This is one area I wouldn't skimp on the money.

I would pick up Developing Math Talent. The SCAT is a nice quick test and you get results back quickly. It's not an achievement test. For achievement, Woodcock Johnson III will give you math scores. For grade placement, I think you need to go to taking out level achievement tests for example, the school's own end of the tests or something like the IOWA Test of Basic Skills 2+ grade levels up.

I agree. I think it is important to note what those 2 other scores are, and how they compare to the perceptual/verbal.

Dd's tester made some additional important inferences based on what she observed on both achievement and IQ.

For example, she noted that her PS was low (meaning perfectly average) in the WISC, because DD was very careful and precise in doing her pencil markings. When she came back to achievement, she wrote beautifully even letters in her practice sentences. When explained that she needed to be fast, but keep writing legible, her first 2 sentences were overly sloppy, bigger. Once she got the hang of it, though, she got to a nice pace but kept even handwriting as well.

Tester then concluded, that her PS is probably higher than what was shown in the WISC. Nevertheless, it is important to know those things. In her case, if she needed to be accelerated, this shows that she could probably handle the pencil work.

I appreciate the information. I am learning a lot on this forum!

I don't have much more factual data to add ;), but thought that I'd add my anecdote. Both of my dds have taken the WISC. Dd#1, who is a consistently high achiever in school and has successfully been grade skipped, scored about 5 pts higher on her GAI than FSIQ b/c her processing speed was low-avg. However, her other three indices were all well into the 90s (percentiles). She has a very good auditory memory, which is what the WISC WM index tests (short-term only). All she has needed accommodations for in school is time. She can do high level work & remember what needs to be done (pays attention and often doesn't need to use her planner to remember the assignments much to my chagrin!)

Dd#2, on the other hand was 18 pts higher on a GAI the first time she was tested with upper 99s on the Verbal index and PRI, and avg scores on WMI and PSI. The second time she was tested the GAI was about 9 pts higher than FSIQ, but WMI and PSI were still a lot lower than the other two. She is my very erratic achieving child and the much lower auditory memory score does seem to impact her learning. She isn't very good at paying attn to what the teacher is saying and often doesn't remember the material b/c she never heard it in the first place. Although she, at times, has scores on both ability and achievement that are PG, I doubt that we will be grade skipping her given her more erratic achievement, lack of attention to detail, and more uneven profile.