Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Large Gap in WSCI score

Hi,

We recently tested our DS7 as he is just not showing much interests in reading/writing although doing fine at school. My DS9 is DYS.

Results came back as expected:

Verbal comprehension 112 79%
Perpetual Reasoning 141 99.7%
processing speed 107 66%
Working memory 132 98%

He is the type of kid who is day dreaming all day long and it takes forever for him to finish the writing assignments.

I wonder if anyone could read into these scores and maybe suggest if there are potential learning disability issues?

Thanks

Grace

When my DS was tested at 6, he had similar results. Same PR score, Verbal was just a few points higher. Also, my DS's working memory wasn't that high. Considering almost a 30 point gap between verbal and PR I was concerned but the neuropsych didn't seem concerned. He just called the verbal ability a "relative weakness". He actually seemed more concerned about processing speed which was around 110, saying that DS might appear "slow" but I think it's pretty common for gifted kids to have processing speed scores in the average range. Don't know if that helps.
My DD has an even larger gap. Her PR was around 150 and processing speed 94. I am taking her into a psych to do learning disability testing. We already know she has ADHD but I'm concerned about dysgraphia as well.

The tester said he was extremely focused on the PR part of testing but easily distracted and total lack of interest in the verbal part. I will post subset scores when I get them next week.

The VCI (Verbal Comprehension Index) and PSI (Processing Speed Index) do not control anything per se, rather they may provide insight or indication of abilities. Official information from the test publisher, provided to testers, may be copyrighted but there is good information made available free to the public on the test publisher's website and also on Wikipedia. As to exact correlation (especially how these scores would translate into classroom instruction), readers may be seeking answers which do not exist (or which I do not have) as IQ tests provide just one piece of data on an individual's intellectual profile.

Could be that the test is just not accurate for the verbal section, then, if he wasn't really trying or wasn't interested in the questions. I wonder about that with DS as well--he has never liked answering verbal questions and I can't see him as trying too hard on a test where he's asked to define words, explain concepts, etc. Half the time I can't even get him to tell me what he ate for lunch or what he's reading in school, so for him to explain in detail what a vocabulary word means (just as an example), would be out of character.

Thanks all for your inputs!

Here are the subset scores:

Similarity 15
Vocabulary 11
Comprehension 11


Block design 16
Picture concept 15
Matrix reasoning 19

Digit span 14
Letter number 15
Arithmetic 14

Coding 13
Symbol search 9
Cancellation 8

The tester recalculated the GAI and got 132(98%).

Some of the comments in the report worth noting:

A seemed to concentrate quite well on several of the subtests( block design, picture concept, coding, matrix reasoning, and letter number sequencing). His focus seemed to be greatest during tasks that were easier for him, but he appeared to be highly distractible during other activities ( I.e. Similarity, vocabulary and comprehension). Although the present results are believed to be a valid measure of his current abilities, it is possible that they underestimate his potential abilities due to his distractibility and fidgetiness.

I think the score kind of reflect what his strength and weaknesses. He still refuses to read chapter books although got quite interested in reading certain type of picture books, such as Bill Peet's books. I am just not sure how this large gap in verbal and nonverbal going to impact him in academics...

It isn't a test we have used but if symbol search and cancellation are what I think they are does he have trouble finding his place again when you distract him while reading? My son did cancellation in the WJ111 cog and I think symbol search for something else and they are both scanning type activities as far as I know. They would be hard for someone with focus issues.

Dp

Has he had an evaluation for attention deficit disorder? That's probably where I would start. It sounds like his verbal score probably isn't really accurate if he was that distracted.

My DD has ADHD and is also very slow with getting written work done. Her verbal and non-verbal scores were both above the 99th percentile but her processing speed score was something like the 33rd percentile. She was medicated when she took the test, otherwise she probably wouldn't have scored so high in the other sections.

The tester suggested further testing for vision and auditory processing as he asked her to repeat the question 14 times when doing arithmetic section. She did not recommend ADHD evaluation but definately pointed out his attention and memory weaknesses.