Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment Help with Stanford Binet scores

Is it just with the WISC IV that you can get a GAI? Or can you get a GAI with the Stanford Binet? Last year he took the Wisc and the school just admintered the Stanford Binet... I am kind of bummed becasue I understand the WISC IV but I am not as knowlegeable about the SB and so can;t seem to compare whether he improved in certain areas or if there is still a 44 point gap necessitating a GAI. With the WISC IV last year they had to do a GAI...

Also, what is considered a "gifted score" on the SB5 ? Is it different form the WISC IV?

It looks like there 23 point difference between scores. He scored in the 97% for fluid reasoning but in the 66% for working memory and visual spatial reasoning. So wondering if that means anything in terms of a GAI?

As far as I understand, there is no equivalent to the GAI on the SB. The composite scores that can be figured are:

Full Scale IQ which includes all 10 subtests

Abbreviated Battery IQ which only includes some of the subtests but would not be any better of an estimate for a child with significant discrepancies.

Nonverbal IQ scale which only includes the five nonverbal subtests associated with each of five cognitive factors measured by SB-V. This is supposed to be used when assessing kids who have hearing loss, communication disorders, autism, specific learning disabilities.

Verbal IQ scale which only includes the five verbal subtests associated with each of the five cognitive factors measured by the SB-V. I'm less sure on when this type of configuration would be used in lieu of FSIQ.

eta: the full 10 subtests are
Fluid Reasoning
Verbal Knowledge
Verbal Quantitative Reasoning
Verbal Visual-Spatial Processing
Verbal Working Memory
and
Nonverbal Fluid Reasoning
Nonverbal Knowledge
Nonverbal Quantitative Reasoning
Nonverbal Visual-Spatial Processing
Nonverbal Working Memory

Did his scores vary within the non-verbal indices and verbal indices or would dropping on portion (verbal or non-verbal) make a big difference in dropping low scores? I.e. - were those low scores on memory and visual spatial in the non-verbal realm or the verbal realm or both? If they were just low on the verbal memory and visual-spatial, the non-verbal composite might be a better fit for him.

Hmmm interesting.... I only seem to have scores for
Fluid Reasoning
Verbal Knowledge
Verbal Quantitative Reasoning
Verbal Visual-Spatial Processing
Verbal Working Memory

I do have a non-verbal score but do not have delineated subtest scores for that - ie no Nonverbal Fluid Reasoning, Nonverbal Knowledge, etc....

I wonder why. I assume I can get them from her - obviously he must have taken them... Anyway the 23 point difference in socres that I see is between "Fluid reasoning" and "working memory" & "visual spatial processing" He got 129 on the fluid reasoning an 106 on working memory" and 106 on "visual spatial processing. I wish they had just used the WISC so I could comapre apples to apples!

If the spread is the same in both verbal and non-verbal, does that mean anything?

I was hoping that maybe the lower scores were all in the verbal or nonverbal subtests so the entire verbal or nonverbal sections could be dropped using one of those alternate means of calculating a composite IQ. It probably would be good to see if they would give you the breakdown for the nonverbal subtests to see if it is a consistent weakness in working memory, for instance, or just the verbal working memory.

I have some more info on what each of the subtests looks at at home. I'll try to find some time when I'm home this evening to post more info on that.

Okay more info - his visual/spatial scores and working memory scores were exactly the same in both verbal and non verbal - the scores are exactly the same and the spread is almost exactly the same.

marytheres, I don't know much of anything about the SB, but fwiw, when our ds was tested by the school he was given the WJ-III Test of Cognitive Abilities, which I also knew nothing about at the time... so what I did was google "(test name) + description of subtests" and I was able to find detailed info about each subtest, what it tested plus how it was administered (prompt+response+timed/untimed). That was enough info for me to figure out how to compare subtests between the WISC and the WJ-III. I'm guessing you're interested in seeing if the scores dependent on vision have improved since he's been through VT? My ds had a low coding speed on the WISC - the corresponding WJ-III test that relies on fine motor (my ds' challenge) wasn't named "coding" but it was easy to see in his scores - there was that same huge dip (BUT.... there was no reason to anticipate that my ds' score might have gone up so I was expecting to see the dip). In some ways, I felt it showed up more clearly and well-defined on the WJ-III than on the WISC.

Re what's considered gifted on the SB vs WISC etc - I'm sorry I don't have the direct link, but I think that there is an article on Hoagies that gives a breakdown for each IQ test with ranges for moderately vs highly vs profoundly etc. You can also see what Davidson considers the 99.9th mark as a comparison if you look at the DYS qualifying criteria page here.

Best wishes,

polarbear

Thanks Polarbear! Yes I want to compare how he performs in the WISC now that he has VT and I want a nice neat apples to apples comparison LOL I also really understand the WISC now but not the SB-V. I guess on a good note this means I can still take him to neuropsych to get the WISC ... it's not like I have to wait a year. The school gave my sson A LOT of tests... I can't complain about that. They gave him the WJ III too ... let me look at those scores...

Just be aware that the WJ III can be either another IQ test or an achievement test depending on which version they gave him- the WJ Cognitive (the IQ version) or the WJ achievement.

Eta: re your earlier question as to what is considered a gifted score on the SB V, I believe that Deborah Ruf, who uses that test a lot with gifted kids, considers something around a FSIQ of 123 or 125 to be MG on the SB V.