Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment How comparable is the RIAS to other IQ tests?

My 6 yr old is beginning her gifted education today as a one hour daily math/enrichment pull out at her public school after having been tested using the RIAS and scoring a VIX of 145, NIX >160 and CIX >160. We knew she was very bright but were surprised to be told she was off the chart, something the school has not seen before. Although we were pleasantly surprised and excited for her, we can't help but second guess such a high score and wonder whether it is worthwhile to pay for a more commonly recognized test to see if there is something more or in addition to the gifted program offered at her school that may meet her needs as she gets older. Anyone else had experience they could share comparing the RIAS with other accepted IQ tests in their young children?

We found they were similar. Our son got on RIAS: VIX 143, NIX > 160 (he got a 177 on that part), CIX > 160 (I think that number was 165).
A year later on the WISC-IV, he got a FS IQ 158 with a GAI of 177. I think the RIAS hits ceilings more than other tests.

Our son tested very high on the RIAS and we had the same concerns about validity that you do. We consulted with a psychologist who came highly recommended by a DYS parent, and she said she saw no reason to re-test unless there were some accomodation needs that weren't being met or we had some concerns about potential learning disabilities that another test might help us to tease out. She also said that although the RIAS is shorter, it's usually within 15 points in either direction when compared to the WISC. Sigh.

Huh. 15 points. That doesn't seem insignificant to me. But to the OP, it sounds like having further testing wouldn't really change what the school is doing.

That's exactly what I thought, deacongirl. I think her point was that the school was likely not going to do anything different based solely on a difference of 15 points in either direction, and we as parents already had a pretty good picture of his needs. Testing with a different test wouldn't likely change anything.