Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment WISC-V test and what to do with results?

Hello,
I am new to these forums and the subject of gifted. My Wife and I could use some advise and help. Please excuse any fumbling, it will be due to lack of experience with the subject.

We have several children but right now we need assistance with our DS8 2nd grader. A brief history, he has always shown signs of being gifted and we have been approached by several people asking if he has been tested for AdHD. We researched the option and spoke with our family doctor. We chose not to test him as most of the signs leaned toward excitement and distraction if not stimulated. So we have focused on keeping him stimulated.

Unlike many stories I have read here we are very lucky with the public school our DS8 goes to. With minor hiccups they have done very well working with him and us to keep him on track. Fast forward to end of first grade our DS8 took the district evaluation called Terra Nova Assessment. Students getting 95% or higher in 3 or more content areas qualify for further testing. His test scores PreK, end of K, and end of 1st were 98 or 99% each time.
At the end of 1st semester this year in 2nd grade he goes to a 4th grade class for reading each day. He also stays in class with his teacher for 2nd recess to do advanced 4th grade level math with his 2nd grade teacher 3-4 days a week.
Due to scheduling conflict DS8 was not able to take the the further testing until right before winter break. The minimum score for acceptance into the gifted program is a 128 on FSIQ or GAI. We received the Full Scale score last Friday. He was given the WISC-V and scored a FSIQ of 145. The bridges program for 2nd graders consists of all Bridges kids (2nd graders) in the district travel by bus to one school each Monday. This year there are 11 DS and DD's in the program.
Today I reached out to the Director of Elementary Education for our district, she again showed that the district supports students to there best ability, Not only did she remember our DS8 but knew his FSIQ score off the top of her head. Within 30 minutes I received an email with his full test results.

The test scores are fairly confusing. He has several that are fairly low. Any help interpreting the scores and advise on programs that will help him continue to enjoy and excel at learning. His biggest hurdle is social skills. His sensitivity and knowing his is the smartest person in the room has made it difficult.

Some of the test subjects were not given to him. One of the programs I would like to let him experience is the Davidson Young Scholars. I do not know if the parts they did not test him on will disqualify him from joining.

WISC-V
Test date 12/18/2015
Male, 8years 2 months
FSIQ 145
GAI 154

Primary Summary
Verbal Comprehension
SI Raw-35, Scaled-19, Age >16:10, SEM 1.16
VC RAW-32, Scaled-17, Age 13:2, SEM 1.24
IN (no data)
CO (no data)
Visual Spatial
BD RAW-47, Scaled-19, Age >16:10, SEM 1.04
VP (no Data)
Fluid Reasoning
MR RAW-24, Scaled-17, Age, >16:10 SEM 0.99
FW RAW-31, Scaled-19, Age, >16:10 SEM 0.73
PC (no Data)
AR (no Data)
Working Memory
DS RAW-26, Scaled-13, Age 11:6 SEM 0.95
PS (no Data)
LN (no Data)
Processing Speed
CD RAW-31, Scaled-11, Age 8:6 SEM 1.37
SS (no Data)
CA (no Data)

Composite
VCI Sum-36, Composite-146, SEM 4.74
VSI (no Data)
FRI Sum-36, Composite-147, SEM 3.67
WMI (no Data)
PSI (no Data)
FSIQ Sum-115, Composite-145, SEM 3.00

Primary Analysis
Index Level Strengths and Weaknesses
VCI Score-146, Comparison-145, Diff-1, Critical-9.84
VSI (no Data)
FRI Score-147, Comparison-145, Diff-2, Critical-9.28
WMI (no Data)
PSI (no Data)

Index Level Pairwise Difference Comparisons
Index Comparison
VCI-FRI Score 1-146, Score 2-147, Critical-11.75
All others (no Data)

Sub-test Level Strengths and Weaknesses
SI Score-19, Comparison-16.4, Diff-2.6, Critical-2.98
VC Score-17, Comparison-16.4, Diff-0.6, Critical-3.15
BD Score-19, Comparison-16.4, Diff-2.6, Critical-2.72
VP (no Data)
MR Score-17, Comparison-16.4, Diff-0.6, Critical-2.61
FW Score-19, Comparison-16.4, Diff-2.6, Critical-2.07
DS Score-13, Comparison-16.4, Diff- -3.4 Critical-2.52
PS (no Data)
CD Score-11, Comparison-16.4,Diff- -5.4, Critical-3.44
SS (no Data)

Sub-test Level Pairwise Difference Comparisons
SI-VC Score 1-19, Score 2-17, Diff-2, Critical-3.02
MR-FW Score 1-17, Score 2-19, Diff- -2, Critical-2.60
All others (no Data)

Ancillary & Complementary Summary
GAI Sum of Scaled-91, Index-154, SEM 3.00
All others (no Data)

A lot of plank data.

Total RAW Score to Scaled Score Conversion
BDn (no Data)
BDp (no Data)
DSf RAW-8, Scaled-10
DSb RAW-10, Scaled-14
DSs RAW-8, Scaled-12
All others (no Data)

Process Level Pairwise Difference Comparisons (scaled Scores)
DSf-DSb Score 1-10, Score 2-14, Diff- -4, Critical-3.69
DSf-DSs Score 1-10, Score 2-12, Diff- -2, Critical-3.63
DSb-DSs Score 1-14, Score 2-12, Diff-2, Critical-3.66
All Others (no Data

Total Raw Score to Base Rate Conversion
LDSf Raw-5
LDSb RAW-4
LDSs RAW-5
All Others (no Data)

I tried to include as much data as I could, if there is anything else needed please let me know.

Our DS8 has a younger brother DS7 (in 3 weeks)1st grader who shows some of the same sensitivity and is very good in many area's. He does not show the same indicators that DS8 shows and does not enjoy most subject except math like his older brother. I have been researching 2nd child habits to see if this has effected his learning. I am hoping we can use the experiences with DS8 to better help DS7.

Any advise or thoughts you would like to share would be greatly appreciated.

AGift (John)

Welcome!

Your DS has excellent scores in almost every area. In response to some of your key questions:

1. DYS--he has eligible scores in the required areas: FSIQ 145+, GAI 145+, VCI and FRI both 145+. Your school administered only enough subtests to obtain the GAI and FSIQ, which was a reasonable decision, based on the recommendations for gifted screening (though I would have preferred to have the three additional subtests needed to generate the complete set of five primary index scores). The index scores that are missing are the ones with weaker sensitivity in distinguishing GT from non-GT children.

2. Low scores--he actually does not have several scores that are low. He has a handful of scores that are in the average range, only one of which is actually a full subtest score (this would be Coding, which is a fine-motor speed task). They appear low only in contrast to his exceptionally strong scores in every other area. Given his young age, in the absence of other information suggesting that he has challenges with speed, fine-motor coordination, or other skills, I would not be too concerned about the Coding (Cd) score. Of course, if you do have concerns IRL, that would be another story.

The other subtest that is relatively low is Digit Span (DS), which is in the high average range. In looking at the process scores (components), I notice that he did better on DSB and DSS than on DSF. This is not an unusual profile in children who have had ADHD questioned, as the difference is that DSF (repeating digits verbatim) is a rote memory task, which tends to be less engaging, and thus more vulnerable to inconsistent attention. DSB (repeating a series of digits in reverse order) and DSS (repeating the digits in increasing order), in contrast, are both more interesting and more amenable to cognitive strategies. In my experience, I find that both children who have attentional weaknesses and children with high cognition may perform better on the reverse and sequencing conditions than on the forward condition. In your DS's case, it could easily be one, the other, or both.

3. Score interpretation--otherwise, his scaled scores are uniformly high, and fairly close to each other. He received one max scaled score in each of the three GAI-related clusters (VC, VS, FR), for at least two of which he appears to have been administered every item available (meaning they may be low estimates of his ability; extended norms are anticipated to come out later this year, at which point it might be worthwhile for you to have his raw scores re-interpreted on the extended norms).

4. ADHD--the data in this set of test scores neither confirm nor rule-out ADHD, on their own. Persons with ADHD often have high stimulus needs; GT individuals also have high intellectual or creative stimulus needs. Children with ADHD have difficulty sustaining attention for low-interest tasks; many ordinary academic activities are so far below the ability of GT children that they may have difficulty sustaining attention for them. Then again, it is quite possible to be dually-exceptional (2e), and be GT/ADHD. I would start from impact on essential life functions. If he is happy, productive, and engaged in healthy relationships, my preference would be merely to keep an eye on attention/impulsivity.

5. Social skills--both GT and ADHD can affect social interactions, often for very different reasons. For GT, a better-matched peer group may make a big difference. You may see this area develop in a more satisfactory way in the GT program. This is a big topic, though, with a lot of facets.

First I would like to say thank you so much for working though my post and giving your thoughts.
If possible I would like to answer and expand on some points. If you and/or anyone else could weigh in it would be very helpful.

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It sounds like you have found the right place. Welcome!

You are very welcome.
Sorry, I was unclear. I meant that the test has lower sensitivity for distinguishing GT from NT children, not that he had weaker sensitivity. IOW, the difference in performance between GT and non-GT children is smaller on WM and PS than it is on the other index scores.
Your anecdotes suggest that his actual mental processing speed is fast, his fine motor skills (at least for creative, non-rote, non-pencil tasks) are good, and his automaticity (at least for math facts) is excellent. By elimination, that suggests that his lower Coding score arises from other factors. For some children, it is a reflective or perfectionistic working style. I take it you do not observe struggles or avoidance behaviors for pencil tasks or writing?
Yes. That sounds like he is able to inhibit impulses without too much difficulty.
You are, of course, correct, that scores near the tail of the distribution tend to have greater variability. (Consider that roughly 2000 individuals were in the norm group, divided into 3 age brackets per year from 6-0 to 16-11. Thus, a fractional person in the standardization sample represented all of the performers above the 99th %ile at each age level.) I should note, though, that your comments about obtaining WISC-IV equivalent scores are premised on some incomplete information. When it is stated that WISC-V scores are lower than WISC-IV scores, it is actually the reverse; it would be more accurate to state that WISC-IV scores obtained at the same time as WISC-V scores are inflated, due to a phenomenon called the Flynn effect (or, more properly, norm obsolescence). There is no reason to believe that WISC-IV scores obtained at the same norm age (which would be about a decade ago) would be any higher than WISC-V scores. Using the adjustments incorporated into the extended norms has more value, as they are based on a small norm population of very high IQ children (i.e., more than a fraction of a child per age bracket). If no one else mentions it before me (and I would think the Davidson Institute would have an interest in announcing it as early as possible), I will certainly post to this group when I become aware of their release.
Not uncommon among GT kiddos.
I mean simply that his attention and impulse control are not impaired to a degree that they interfere with living a healthy, happy life.
You are definitely not alone in this. There are many discussions on the forum regarding the tension between advancing based on academics and based on social skills. A discussion point that arises frequently is the question of whether the net effect is more positive if he is matched on academic level, but not on developmental level, or mismatched on both. (I betray my bias here!) Being with age peers does not automatically mean that he is in a social/developmental peer group. If he is equally a fish out of water with age peers and with older children, then it may be that the social cost of moving up is relatively little, but at least some of the academic/cognitive needs can be addressed more effectively. I say this as someone who was (cumulatively) radically accelerated, beginning with early entry to kindergarten, and who has also never broken the 10th %ile line in stature.

Others on this forum will, I am sure chime in with some specific activities that have been helpful for their children, such as state or national GT organization get-togethers, or clubs that tend to draw GT children.

About social skills - my DS7 had trouble relating to kids his own age every since he was very little. When we had get togethers with other families who have similar age kids, he may be playing with them for very short period of time and then he would go do his own thing or go talk to the adults.

He was basically shut off when he returned to kindergarten after the winter break. The school social worker got involved. She asked my DS to pick someone from his class that he would like to play with and pulled both them out of the class for a period of time during the day to play with each other. I think that helped him finding same interests with the other kid. Came to first grade, I warned the teacher but so far he has made more friends and had no big issues interacting with the kids in his class.

I think he's finding more things in common with the other kids as he grows older. Also signing him up with team sports may have helped too. He is in basketball so not only he's learning basketball skills, he's also learning how to play and work with his teammates.

We are currently trying to work with his school for accelerated academic plans but specifics said that we don't want him to skip grades. He's finally able to related to kids his own age and also we don't think he's mature enough to move up grades yet. For us, accelerated curriculum in the current grade works better.

Thank you Loy58, you are most correct. Over the last 2 weeks I have explored many sites and this one has the most welcoming and insightful people I have seen.

Portia,

Thank you for your input. DS8 has been in soccer the last 2 years through the YMCA and loves it. We have them in as many after school programs we can. He and his brother are both in the City wide chess club and we take them to as many matches as we can. Both of my DS's have problems relating to other there age in one way or another. One suggestion was Cub Scouts. I am looking into this now, both boys seem somewhat interested. We are hoping the kids in his Bridges class will connect and we can set up some play dates. Thank you for the additional ideas about weekend clubs.
The Epsilon camp looks great, It is only 4 hours away. We are looking to see if we can shift some other obligations to free up the window.