Is it common for a 6 y.o. to be asked "questions for a 14 to a 16-year-old" on a WISC IV test? I have only a vague idea of what is actually on a WISC, but I thought content varied somewhat based on age. This comment by a 6 y.o. sounded strange to me ("when (tester) asked me questions for a 14-16 y.o."). Thanks for any clarification!

It is quite possible for a six yo to answer questions for a 14-16 yo, if they go deep enough into a subtest. There is no upper limit based on age on the WISC (other than the administration discontinue rules). Age comes in wrt start points, which are the first item for six yos, but two to a half dozen items in for 16 yos. Not sure if the examiner was loosely describing items past the teen start point as 14-16 yo, or estimating the item difficulty based on age equivalents.

Obviously this is common only for high functioning kids!

I don't think it's uncommon. It may be more uncommon for the tester to mention it than for it to happen.

Thanks, aeh! Now I'm REALLY curious!

The child's statement was pretty specific, so it didn't sound like something he was making up or imagining. The tester's actual statement was rather humorous (as related by the 6 y.o.), but I am trying to avoid too many additional specifics. I am guessing the tester's goal was to keep the child's confidence somewhat intact in case the child was NOT able to answer the questions.

Loy58, one of my dd's had a tester tell her she'd answered questions that some college age-kids can't answer on one of her ability tests. This isn't my e.g. kiddo either - I think the tester just put it out there as an encouragement to her, as she's a kid who tends to lack self-confidence.

It did give her a huge boost of self-confidence, but it also back-fired a little bit because although she was perhaps able to answer questions that a college-aged person might have some difficulty with, she definitely wasn't ready to *go* to college in any subject at that point, and it was hopeless attempting to explain the science of statistics to her in a meaningful way so that she understood what answering a question that only x percent of 20 year olds might get correct really meant at that point in her life lol!

Best wishes,

polarbear

Thanks for the story, polarbear! LOL! Yes, I am sure there was some "friendly encouragement" going on here!

I've known other examiners to make similar comments for rapport/encouragement/motivational reasons. I try to avoid those, myself, because my experience is that kids don't always interpret them the way you expect. It's usually harmless, but my preference is not to. Those who give the WJ are particularly prone to doing so. Maybe because there's a handy chart right on the record form, next to each subtest, with approximate age equivalents on it.

Keep in mind, also, that while it is normatively unusual for a six yo to answer most questions administered to 14-16 yos, there is a big difference between answering the first question typically given to a 14-16 yo, and answering items that the 50th %ile of 16 yos normally get correct. And, I can't help mentioning yet again that age equivalents are the work of the devil.

Sorry for being vague, all. DS6 took the WISC, mainly because I'd heard that siblings can be close in scores. Also, after having DD tested, I wished I'd done it sooner. I didn't have the results and I was trying to understand DS's comments (OK, and I'll admit that I was going a bit nuts waiting!).

I have the results. Stunned. DS did very, very well. As for siblings being close in score - DD9, my DYS, and DS6 are within one point of each other for FSIQ and within 3 points of each other for GAI.

wow that's pretty amazing how close they are! Do you have achievement testing for him? How great would it be if you could get him into the DYS program. I'm still wondering what to do with DS when we go to the summit next year.

slammie - he took the WJ Ach. at 4 and had very, very high scores, but as another thread recently mentioned, Broad Scores (which are needed for DYS) might top out at this age group at: 138 (which would make zero sense, since his some of his subtests were 190+, 160+)! We did not get a Broad Score for him, and it is probably pointless if the other thread is correct. I may have to have him take the WIAT, but I've heard that this test may have lower ceilings (???). Moral of MY story: get your DC's siblings tested, too!