Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment WIAT higher than WISC?

Thanks for the thoughts Polar Bear. I will definitely follow up with the tester. I was wondering the same thing -- maybe the 'predictions' are off. They seem very low to me. Not sure what components of the WISC go into those or if it is just a correlation between the FSIQ in total.

Her subtest scores were all about the same, except for processing speed. Within those, she scored highest in Block Design and Vocabulary (17), followed by Verbal Similarities (16) and Digit Span (16). The rest were 13/14 except processing. Working memory is right up there, so I'm not sure if the GAI would be that much higher. She doesn't seem to me to be a 99.9 kid, either. But at the same time, she's my kid, so I sometimes fear I could be selling her short. I guess that is what surprised me -- her percentiles on the achievement tests:

Reading = 99
Math = >99.9
Written Language = 99.8
Oral Language = >99.9

We do math outside the curriculum so I expected that to be pretty high. But we don't do anything 'extra' per se for the rest. She reads a ton, though.

I have been cautiously thinking recently that what her teacher and I have come up with this year really is working, but as always it has taken until December to really get buy-in from the powers-that-be. We had her tested because I am growing weary of the battle. She goes to a new school next year and I was afraid that all of the hard fought credibility she (as a student) and I (as a realistic parent) have earned is going to be lost as we enter the a new system and we'll waste tons of time banging our heads against the wall. Plus I have three more kids coming down the pipeline, so I need it to get easier!

Zen Scanner -- I was thinking the same thing: maybe this is what it looks like when a MG kid gets challenged appropriately. In that case the percentiles would be more a statement how underchallenged gifted kids are across the board in this country. Given what it has taken for me to get what I want (in a friendly school system and as an educator myself), I guess that shouldn't be a total surprise. Perhaps that is the most likely scenario.

Thanks again for your thoughts everyone!

Loy58 -- I posted before seeing your reply. I would love to see those sources. That's exactly what I am trying to rule out -- am I selling her short based on FSIQ?

tortuga, fwiw, I think that sometimes it's easy to read through Davidson info and think that if a child isn't > 99.9th percentile they aren't "highly gifted" - but the reality is, a > 98th percentile FSIQ *is* a really really highly intelligent and highly capable child! JMO, but if you have a 98th percentile kid who's doing great and seems to be capable of more, I'd give the "more" to them, encourage them to shoot for the stars, and advocate like crazy to get them appropriately challenging work at school. JMO again, but I don't think that IQ as one measure in and of itself is a predictor of how far any of our children will go - personality, motivation, ability to take advantage of intellectual strengths - all of that matters in a big way.

I would personally focus on her passions, what she's interested in, and keep advocating like crazy to give her challenge within school and also give her opportunities to explore her passions outside of school.

Best wishes,

polarbear

tortuga - I do not have any knowledge about how the WISC may have been used to predict achievement in your DD's case, but I would look at it as a "bare minimum." Your DD's WISC FSIQ, remember, is still very high, but your DD has shown she may also have high motivation, curiosity, and drive. I would suggest these are also extremely important to achievement, and are not always evident on an IQ test result. Just a few things I have recently run across, that you may find interesting:

Malone - Testing Gifted

Hoagies - Why Scores Vary

Silverman - Using IQ Tests

IQ Change Over Time?

You mention she is a hard worker. Combined with that IQ, I would say she has tremendous potential - and I would see the WISC FSIQ as a bare minimum estimate of what she can do when she puts her mind to it!

OP,

Looking at all of this another way, your kid qualifies for gifted programming in most areas because the cutoff is usually 98th percentile and above. Furthermore, she is motivated and can apply her intelligence in measurable and practical ways which is seen in the stellar achievement test results.

There are a lot of people with higher IQs but lower achievement scores and in life achievement counts for far more than mere potential.

I so appreciate everyone's insight! I hope I don't sound like I am sandbagging her. I know she's very bright and that her work ethic and attitude will get her a lot farther than 'innate' ability. In large part my efforts have been about that: Making sure the work isn't too easy so she can feel the rewards of working hard and mastering challenging material. Clearly that's working and I should keep at it. I feel like I know my daughter and have a handle on things, but presented with all of this data, I am drawn to pulling it apart ten different ways just to make sure it matches up to my intuitive sense of where she is at, especially when the numbers don't exactly come out how I would expect. Everyone's comments have made that so much easier, so I really appreciate it. I guess I am also curious to see what the school's reaction is going to be to these results -- in other words, does their perception of her match up to these test scores and will they want to do anything about it? But that is a post for a different day! Thanks again!