Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment Testing only took one hour

My 6 yo was tested on the wisc-iv but the total test time only took one hour (not counting the time the tester took to get to know dd). Does that seem short to you?

Yep.

I wouldn't necessarily worry about it - the WISC isn't really a very long test, it's just a string of relatively short subtests. I think a lot depends on the personality of the tester re how much time the test takes to administer. When my EG ds was tested on the WISC the first time he was 5 it was a WISC-only test given by a private psych for admission to a gifted program, and it was stretched out over two days, approximately 1-1.5 hours each session. The second time he was given the WISC he was 8 and the test was part of a comprehensive neuropsychology exam. DS went in to meet the neuropsych first thing in the morning, probably around 9 am. I was sitting waiting outside the testing room and thought of something I wanted to mention to the neuropsych about the previous IQ testing... so when ds came out at around 10, I mentioned it to her and she surprised the heck out of me when she let me know that "yep, we just finished the WISC and I saw that too". So that second test didn't take him very long at all. He's had a repeat WISC since then plus the WJ-III Cog Abilities test twice (once in a non-stressful situation and once in a relatively stressful situation) and his scores are extremely consistent with all of his testing.

Do you have the test results yet, and do they seem to match what you know about your child? Did you ask your ds what he did during the test? Did he seem happy about it or stressed out about it?

polarbear

I don't have official results yet. The tester did comment that dd was getting tired but that she worked very hard. We picked this tester b/c she has 15+ years experience working with children, specifically gifted children and 2e. So I feel confident that she knows what she's doing. Just curious if there's a chance she tested her on the WPPSI and not the WISC since the WPPSI takes less testing time. I doubt it's the WPPSI... just something that came to mind.

Wanted to add that it sounds like it was somewhat positive b/c the tester wants to have the follow up before school starts (less than 2 weeks) so that we can talk to dd's teacher and hopefully get an accelerated learning plan for her. She said that my dd is shy (knew that) and hard to draw out of her shell so she will definitely be overlooked in a classroom instead of getting her needs met. We were testing in hopes that dd would qualify for the gifted program that starts next year in 2nd grade.

It sounds like you have a good advocate in the tester - that's worth it's weight in gold

FWIW I didn't mention my dd in my original reply, but she took the WPPSI when she was 5 as part of a psychological assessment - the psych who tested her also gave the WPPSI to a friend's dd around the same time for testing for our district's gifted program. The testing for each of our dd's (WPPSI only) took two days, with lots of time for breaks for the kids etc... so... just fwiw... some psychs can stretch that WPPSI out!

Let us know how everything works out for your dd - I am so glad you'll have an opportunity to talk to her teacher before school starts, and that you have a psych who is willing to advocate for her!

polarbear

Ok, thinking out loud here, do you think it's possible it didn't take as long because the tester didn't start with the easiest questions and maybe skipped to the more challenging questions resulting in less questions asked?

I really don't know anything about IQ testing so forgive me if this is something that is not allowed with testing.

I understand that DS6 wisc took a bit less than an hour, including a few tests hitting ceilings. The school psych didn't give him breaks, nor did he do any of the extra optional tests.

The tester can make a huge difference to how fast the test is administered. But also at barely old enough to sit that test your child does not have nearly as much cruft to wade through before they get to their level. The SB5 has routing questions that provide a guide as to how far through the material you can start testing, which often makes the SB5 shorter, the Wechsler tests do not do this, so a 6yr old (who could sit the WPPSI still OR the WISC) is going to have a lot more wasted time on the WPPSI than the WISC. My 4.5yr was off with the pixies before she got to her level on the WPPSI, I cannot even imagine what she would have been like at 6. Where as the WISC would hopefully be pretty snappy (with a good tester) for a 6yr old, even a gifted one.