Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment Should I get son retested

Hi,

My 6 year old son just received his WISC test results and has a score of 140 in verbal comprehension and 130 overall. Should i try for a retest so he can try o get the 145 he needs for Davidsons Young Scholar Program? We are really struggling to find educational resources for him and admission into the program seems like it could really help us.

Is it worth it for a retest? Do we have any other options?

Thanks in advance for the advice!

Was the 130 overall the Full Scale IQ (FSIQ) or General Ability Index (GAI)? There are multiple ways to qualify for DYS, so you might want to look at whether he already has something else in the WISC that hits that 145 cut off. Also, you wouldn't be able to retest on the WISC for at least a year by which time the WISC-V will likely be out. Generally, newer tests score lower in the first few years they are out so I don't know if I'd put the # into retesting on the WISC-V at that point unless you have other strong pieces to the application.

Do you have qualifying achievement scores at this point? If not, it would probably be less expensive to look at having him take an achievement test to see if he hits the minimum on that before putting more $ into IQ testing. He could, of course, take the SB-V much sooner than the WISC and might or might not get a high enough # on that for DYS. WISC and SB #s don't always come out at the same place. Some kids score higher on one than the other.

Lots of help I am! Narrowed down to my major recommendations:

1) have him take the WJ or WIAT achievement test now if you don't already have qualifying achievement scores
2) if he qualifies on achievement, either have him take the SB-V or try the WISC in a year but probably only if his achievement is not a "barely there" type of #.

His full scale is 130 and VCI is 140. It is frustrating that he is only 5 points away! I am new to this whole world, so any advice is appreciated!

Do you have the PRI score as well and/or any of the scaled scores that fed into those totals? We can be more help with more data as to whether he is a likely DYS candidate, etc. PM me if you don't want to put that much data out on a public board. If I can't help you, I may be able to find someone who can crunch numbers better for you.

I have his scaled scores. The verbal scaled scores are, similarities 17, vocabulary 17, comprehension 16.

I will also talk to our tester about the acievement tests. The tester said that he was a little distracted during testing, so he may do better on a short subject achievement test.

Thanks so much for the help!

Those are nice and even, which is good in terms of him not having any major unevenness. Did you get scores for the perceptual reasoning index as well? The WISC should have had four indeces: VCI (verbal comprehension), PRI (perceptual reasoning), WMI (working memory), and PSI (processing speed).

5 points on an iq test is actually more than you might think.

That said, I have a child who tested 138 FSIQ on the WPPSI and six months later 146 on the SBV. Some kids test the same on both, some find one test suits them better than the other. It can also be the tester or just the day... In our case I put my DDs results down to:

1) she outright refused part of the WPPSI, this effected her score
2) the WPPSI was long and boring, i watched her tune out before she got to her level on multiple sub tests. Where as due to the routing questions the SBV was fast, snappy and engaging
3) the 2nd tester "got" my DD. the two testers themselves contributed to the long slow v. fast and engaging issues in point 2.

So yes retesting might drive the score up, but it might not. I think cricket's advice is excellent.

Thanks for all the great advice. As for my goals, like most people here I want better educational opportunities for my son. He is a happy, social kid, but is not in the least bit challenged by school. We live in an area with very good public schools, but they do not have much of a gifted program. We cannot afford private school. I am at a loss as to what to do. I will by sending him to academic camps this summer, but just wish he could be challenged by school.

Are there any good public school systems for gifted children or do most parents send their kids to private or homeschool?

Very frustrated! :-) thanks!

I would be interested in knowing what score brought down his FSIQ to 130 - was it his PRI or his Processing Speed or Working Memory? Knowing that may give you a bit of a window into how he learns best. It might also help if you have any kind of notes from the person who did the test - did he seem distracted at all? Did they think there was any reason to doubt the part of the test he scored lower on?

As kcab mentioned, we might also be able to help more if we had more specifics re what you're trying to do re school. Your ds isn't challenged, but is he happy? Is he in K or 1st? Do you think he might need a grade skip? If you're looking for any kind of acceleration, having achievement testing is probably going to be as important as having IQ testing. You could also begin to put together a portfolio of his work - not necessarily for Davidson but to have to advocate at school. If you think your ds might be more appropriately challenged at a private school and there's a good school in your area, ask about financial aide - it never hurts to ask!

That's all I can think of at the moment, but if you have more specific questions let us know.

polarbear

MarinMommy1 - Do you have these subtests? would you be willing to share the entire set of scores? I have in the past been amazed at what this board has been able to determine about a child just looking at their subtest scatter.