My 12yo has just taken a WISC test and I'm a bit perplexed by the results. We've always regarded her as gifted, but have never had the need to have her tested. We homeschool and so we've always been able to adjust the level of her work accordingly and have never felt that we needed to prove her intelligence to anyone. She has most of the "characteristics" that you read on gifted lists, including some of the quirks and sensitivities. She spontaneously started to read when she was 3 1/2, and we have always had people comment to us on how insightful and mature her thinking is.
So-when she needed a WISC score to help her gain entry into a program that she wants to do (only needing a moderately gifted score), we didn't have any concerns that it would be a problem. We did not need a full report, so we opted for the cheaper option (the only one we could afford), which was a "label" of each of the subtests (no numerical scores) and the Overall IQ. These were:
VCI - Superior Range
PRI - high Average
WMI - High Average
PSI - High Average
FSIQ - High Average
I am a school teacher, so I've seen the general range of abilities and she has never seemed in the average range (albeit high average) to me.I don't have any need for my child to be gifted, and I hope for my own sake that I'm not being biased, but I really doubt that she is high average. It just doesn't seem to me that a child of average intelligence would teach themselves to read at the age of 3 1/2, think at such an advanced level or have so many of the gifted characteristics if they weren't. She also solves logic/picture puzzles way faster than I do, and I was tested as "gifted' as a child.
So...my question is...can these these tests produce underestimated results? And if so, what is the purpose of them if they cannot be an accurate measure? Can giftedness be masked by a LD in the scores (not sure if she has one, just wondering)? Any other ideas for an unexpectedly low score? (she was not ill or tired and felt positive about the test - although she is a very reflective child and a perfectionist - so tends to take her time to make sure she is absolutely correct. maybe that could play a role?). Any ideas? I'm starting to worry myself that I have become one of those parents who completely overestimate their children's abilities - even though I'm often told I tend the other way! sigh!
