Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment Big diff in scores--4 years apart & two tests

Wondering how large of a spread people have seen in their children's scores? My DD's WJ-Cog GIA qualified her for DYS back in 2012, but her achievement didn't meet the cut-off and she was denied admission. Now that the criteria is one test, I thought we'd reapply, but the test is too old. So, I had her tested with the WISC-IV (in a possibly suspect environment--more on that below), and her GAI is considerably lower. Just curious if anyone else has seen so large a spread. Is it age, or the tests? Or, is it not that large of a spread, because I should ignore FSIQ and just look at GAI?

2011:
WJ GAI: 152 (age 6)

2015:
WISC IV: 135 (FSIQ) and 144 (GIA) --age 10

Note on the "suspect" environment: we tested through the NJ Gifted Child Society, because the price was right. Evidently, it's screening for their organization (which requires FSIQ of 130), and we didn't get a full score, and the test was done relatively quickly.

The structure of the WJ and WISC are significantly different, though they do usually generate comparable results, so the drop from WJ GIA to WISC FSIQ isn't necessarily the biggest deal. I would not actually describe her WISC-IV GAI as considerably lower than her WJIII GIA. It's only 8 points, which, when one considers the age at first administration, regression to the mean, and change from one test to another test, is not that substantial.

Did you actually have the WISC-IV done, or the WISC-V? The -V is generally quicker to administer, especially if only the subtests required for an FSIQ (and GAI) are given. Under an hour is not at all unusual for the -V, even for a bright kid.

It was definitely the WISC-IV, but I think it only took about 45 minutes or so to administer.

Yeah, that's a pretty short administration time for the WISC-IV, though I suppose there may be someone out there who can do it well and that quickly. So, if you didn't get a full score, yet have FSIQ and GAI numbers, and the test took about 15 minutes fewer than usual, I gather they skipped at least a couple of subtests (most likely Symbol Search and Letter-Number Sequencing), and then prorated.

So that makes the difference in scores even less significant.

Stacey, I am going to pm you.

ITA with others who doesn't see it as a large spread. First, I don't think you can compare FSIQ with GAI, so you are looking at a 8 point difference. Second, DYS used to require 150 for the WJ Cog compared to 145 for the WISC, which would suggest that DYS, at least prior to the recent criteria changes, would consider that a three-point difference (two points above previously vs. one point below now). If the denial was due to the previous achievement score being substantially below the cut-off, then your DD might have a decent chance now with a GAI that is just one point below.

My ds' school administered the WJ-Cognitive when ds was in 5th grade, and they told me that they used the WJ-Cog rather than the WISC-IV (this was around 6-7 years ago, therefore no WISC-V)... because WISC-IV scores tend to be a bit lower with more of a ceiling for elementary school students than the WJ-Cog. My ds' WJ-Cog GAI came out roughly the same value as his WISC-IV GIA, but his WISC-IV FSIQ was slightly lower due to 2e exceptionalities.

Did you receive subtest scores on your WISC-IV? Just curious what lowered the FSIQ, and if it's something that would have impacted the original achievement scores when your dd was first tested.

Best wishes,

polarbear

DS10 dropped 2-and-a-half standard deviations, from taking the WISC-IV 3 years ago to the WISC-V this year. His new WJ scores (WJ-III to WJ-IV) were mostly on par with what we originally saw. We expected a bit of a drop, because it's a newer test and regression to the mean. But, not a nearly 40 point drop. What happened? We are chalking it up to a heap of anxiety. The two other testers (speech and WJ) reported DS to be talkative, friendly, and enthusiastic. The psychologist who did the WISC reported that DS refused to chat with her when taking breaks, turned his back to her, and engaged in a certain behavior (which I know to be his "anxiety" tic).

I'm sure this is pretty unusual, but it underscores the need to have a good rapport between your child and the tester.