Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment Retesting for WISC-IV

My DD9 was tested 3 years ago with the WISC-IV and obtained a full scale IQ score of 135. The school now wants to retest her, saying that she was young when first tested. Does anyone know if this is necessary? How long are IQ scores valid?

That's a hard one to answer. IQ scores can change over the course of many years or even within a year or so or they may not change much at all. It depends on the kid and other factors.

The main thing I'd want to know in your situation is why the school wants to retest her. Do they retest everyone every few years to requalify for GT services or do they have specific concerns with her perfomance not being on par with what they'd expect given her prior IQ scores?

If it is the later, I'd be more concerned about her losing services she currently has and think about whether any twice exceptionality issues or long-term underplacement educationally is likely to be impacting her performance. Can you test privately or do you need to do it through the school and how high would her scores need to be when retested to not lose GT services? I really hate high stakes tests -- 'make this one number or you're out' type of things. Are you looking @ a situation like that here?

The school wants to retest her because they are finally beginning a G&T program. The principal has stated that each child will be tested once in grades K-8, and that test will count for the entire time at school. However, he stated my DD must be tested again since it has been 3 years. (she was tested at that time for grade acceleration-which she qualified for) Her current IQ score will get her into G&T, but if it has dropped significantly she will not qualify.

And her performance has remained high in all areas.

It sounds like the odds are that she'd do well again especially if she is performing well post grade skip, which it sounds like she is. It does seem odd to bump a kid who has been skipped a grade out of GT programming, but I guess that it's not unheard of.

I just don't like having that much riding on one test result! I might push a little further and check with the district GT coordinator expressing concern not that your dd isn't as able as her prior test indicates but that putting this much pressure on her to do well on one test might depress her scores. It may not, but that is a lot of pressure!

Thanks and I totally agree. The problem is our school has never had a G&T program and my DD has never received any services other than the grade skip. Now that they are starting GT program, under pressure, they want to retest her blaming her being young at the original time of testing. Nothing else has changed. She continues to have an A average, has her teacher's recommendation and is involved in multiple activities after school. I feel that the principal is making this decision to spite me for pushing the school to create a G&T program and there is no GT coordinator to refer to.
Does anyone know if IQ scores can change drastically? I have read information that states it is not beneficial to retest IQ since it usually does not vary too much. I want to go into a meeting with the principal armed with information to advocate for my daughter.

Our state's G/T program stipulates that kids are to be retested every three years unless the parents and the school both agree that it's not necessary. So in a case like this where the school insists it's necessary, my DD would be retested.

I wouldn't worry too much in your shoes. Your daughter has shown no signs of regression. As you said, these things don't vary all that much.

What I would do, however, is point out the outrageous hypocrisy in your principal's stance, because if every kid has to be tested from K-8, and your kid was tested in K-8, they're treating her differently.

They are going to waste their own money doing right, correct? I'd let them. It's rather unlikely your daughter will score more than a few points above/below of what she did last time.

I really wouldn't worry about it too much, and I'd let them retest. Coming at it from a different angle, three years is a time-frame that is used for re-testing IQ and achievement for other reasons - for kids who have IEPs and for kids who need accommodations for LD etc on high-stakes testing such as College Board etc. Chances are your dd's IQ hasn't changed outside of whatever the measurement error of the test is (which should be just a few points), unless the original estimate was inflated to begin with.

I'd look at it from this perspective - you've successfully advocated for a G&T program at your dd's school - that's wonderful! (Congratulations, btw!). There has to be some way of screening and qualifying children to get them into the program. What would you think if you were one of the parents of other children who haven't been skipped and who are being screened - would you wonder why one parent's child was automatically allowed in without the screening? What if you were the principal and suddenly this parent who'd pushed pushed pushed for the program thought they should be able to have their child skip the screening - would you wonder if they didn't doubt just a bit that their child might not qualify?

The two things I'd wonder about are - what is the IQ cut-off for the new program, and if a matrix of data is used such as including achievement testing, a different type of ability test, teacher recommendation etc, are kids who come in just a bit below the IQ cut-off going to be able to get in based on an overall qualifying matrix?

If your dd did happen to come in below her previous scores, I think you could take all the reasons you might be worried about testing now (having an off-day when testing etc) and turn them into reasons to advocate that the second test isn't reflective of her potential (along with past performance in school etc). OTOH, if her previous score was already below the cut-off or she's very near it, that might be more difficult to counter.

And otoh.. what exactly is the gifted program going to be? A pull-out or a full class grouping? Either way, if she doesn't get in, she's not going to be retained in the same grade next year is she?

Best wishes,

polarbear

Yes, they can change significantly over time but if your dd is performing as expected for the prior IQ, I would expect that it is likely they'll be similar. Worrying isn't going to change the outcome either, unfortunately.

My one child who was tested twice had scores on the same test 20 pts apart in only a year (lower the second time), but she is also twice exceptional and I suspect that seriously impacts her performance on things like that. Major reasons for changes in IQ would relate to 2e issues like my dd (either up after the LD is remediated or down due to anxiety, erratic testing in a 2e kid, etc.), regression to the mean, inflated scores early on due to enriched environment, or depressed scores early on due to poor environment.

It doesn't sound like most of those reasons would apply to your dd, so I'd be generally hopeful that the scores would be pretty similar.

Some articles on changing IQ scores and possible reasons:

http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/content/154/8/711.full
http://faculty.education.uiowa.edu/dlohman/pdf/Gifted_Today.pdf
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v479/n7371/full/nature10514.html
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203752604576641133332697322.html (this one reports on the same study as the Nature article above, but may give more complete info as access to Nature in full may be limited to subscribers.)

FWIW, someone is still gifted at any given point in time and not everyone's IQ changes just b/c substantial changes can be seen in some individuals. A child who performs as if she is gifted and has a prior IQ score that supports that would be high on my list of people to assume will test as gifted a second time (i.e. -- her odds of having a gifted level IQ score is likely much, much better than most.)