Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment Using lowest subtest scores to calculate VCI

I am so glad I found this forum. I have been searching the internet for something to help me understand my son's WISC scores.

My seven year old son recently took the WISC-IV. His scaled scores on the VCI subtests were:

Similarities 13
Vocabulary 12
Comprehension 10
Information 17

When computing his VCI score she only used the three lowest scores.

My older son took the WISC-IV a few years ago. His tester computed his score using the three highest scores. Does anyone know why one would use the lowest scores and one the highest?

Any help would be appreciated.

Information is a supplemental test, which should only be used to compute VCI if one of the primary tests was spoiled, although it can also be done to get extra information if looking for issues.

Now as for why the information subtest would be so much higher than the others... you might want to was the tester.

Thank you. That does make more sense now. I wonder why the information score was so much higher? His PRI scores were similar. 10 13 17 and 11, but because the 17 score was used and the lower one dropped his score on the PRI was over 20 % higher. It's such a huge difference which made me wonder how accurate his score is if it goes up so much based on the right test being dropped.

What do you see in 'real life?' What are his Processing Speed and Working Memory scores like? (You may as well post the whole thing) and why was your child tested, and what did the expert say about it and what are your lingering questions?

If it helps I'd offer your the word 'spikey' to describe his profile.

His Processing Speed and Working Memory scores are also varied

Working Memory
Digit Span 12
Letter Number 15

Processing Speed
Coding 12
Symbol Search 10

Overall scores

VCI 108
PRI 121
WMI 120
PSI 106

FSIQ 119

He took the WISC to see if he could get into the same school as his brother (Whose GAI was 139 on the WISC).

Knowing my two children I know my younger one would fare better at the school because he is a high achiever and is constantly asking to learn harder stuff (academics in first grade are boring). My older one is just along for the ride.

So of course the one who doesn't care to much qualifies for the gifted school and the one who is dying to learn more is in a school where he hasn't learned anything academically for the two years he has been there (He has had good teachers who have been teaching him to slow down and check his work).

With his scores being so varied I am wondering how accurate it is and if there are any underlying problems that might cause the variations in the scores.

Oh, and the expert said that he is a smart kid with great non verbal skills and a great working memory.