Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment Concerned about low processing score

Not the OP but DD's block design score was 16. It was lower than the 18-19 (without extended norms) that she scored on Picture Concepts and Matrix Reasoning, but it seems like with her slow processing speed that score should have been lower. The slow processing speed does not seem to apply to visual spatial tasks (with her). And I'm not sure how to explain why this would be the case. It DOES apply to math. She has a very good grasp of concepts but is very slow with doing actual calculations.

I think I'm going to start a new thread on ADHD and meds on the 2e forum

I'm glad you raised this question. I don't have the answers. I do have a dc with a processing speed issue. I still don't have the answers for my child either.

Background for us:

Based on his Explore Scores which were DYS level two years ago (he was 10), his school offered to give him the WISC IV. He'd been identified as gifted back in Kindergarten based on his math ability. His reading wasn't far behind but at the time he missed the cutoff by one percentage point. The program soon after qualified him in both areas as his strengths flip flopped year after year in the early grades. Before I talk about the results I think it's also important to note why we gave him the Explore. He had begun to show signs of perfectionism to the degree that it was getting in the way of his learning. At the time he was erasing constantly, so much so that he'd erase holes in his papers; he would take SO much time to line up his math equations just so; he would pretend he already knew something so he wouldn't be caught looking less smart (This was the largest red flag for me). He was even a perfectionist with his behavior. He never got in trouble all through school. I started asking his teachers to just "move his bee" a sort of demerit so that he would see what it was like to make a mistake and still be loved, still be respected.
So in order to combat both perfectionism and underachievement (he didn't have to work at all at anything to get a good grade and a good score on grade level tests) I signed him up for a test that he was given permission to fail. He didn't, much to our surprise.

So the WISC IV determined that his VCI was above DYS cutoff, and his GAI was above DYS cutoff. After VCI, his PRI was next highest, still high, his WMI was next but only high average and his PSI index was lowest being only a bit higher than that of your dc. The tester wrote it was because of being a perfectionist. He didn't seem to show signs of being slow with the block design test. Only when he was drawing. Coding was the lowest.

Despite this lower PSI we grade advanced him. At the time he had major issues with timed math tests. He froze up under pressure. Still does a bit. My DH is much the same. Could he benefit from accommodations? Could he benefit from a 504? Perhaps so, but it would be difficult to convince the school we're not just trying to game the system AND, most importantly, our ds doesn't want to appear different in that way. He doesn't want extra time. He'd rather get a lower score. We've decided to respect his wishes. I truly believe he will be fine. He may not look like the best on paper but we know he's extremely gifted, ambitious (in things he likes) and creative, and so will be fine in the end.
That said, I still have doubts. Doubts about not looking into the situation more. (Was at some point hoping to ask aeh about this) Worries that his grade-advancement has given him holes for math in a system that isn't great to begin with. But we're waiting to see how this next year plays out now that he can relax into his new grade. He's not fast in math but he did 6th, 7th, and 8th grade math in one compacted class last year. Some of it stuck, some needs refreshing, but at least he likes math again.

Yes. My ds12 is very similar.

There are most likely many different reasons that could be the case, but fwiw here's one example - my dysgraphic ds has the dip in processing speed scores (for him coding is the severe discrepancy), but he ceilinged block design - didn't miss any of the questions. If I understand the block design subtest correctly, it involves manipulating blocks to repeat designs, and there is no handwriting involved. Processing speed is made up of two subtests - coding and symbol search. Symbol search relies on the ability to pick objects out of a random crowded visual field, and coding requires the student to copy a symbol using a pencil. Coding relies on fine-motor skills, symbol search relies on visual skills. Looking at how the actual processing subtest scores break down can help give a clue to why the overall processing score is low, and depending on the scores might help determine whether or not there's a reason to look further.


I'd want to know here - is she slow with the actual calculations, or is she slow with putting them on paper? My dysgraphic ds is really good at math - it's definitely one of his strong set of skills. He's not a super-fast calculator, but he isn't horribly slow either. However, it *does* take him a very long time to write his math calculations down on paper.

polarbear

I totally understand your thoughts KADmom and respect that you want to respect your ds' wishes I would like to throw a few thoughts out here just for food-for-thought. First, there's a little bit of wiggle room where any of us could benefit from certain accommodations - most of us can type faster than we can write, for instance, and there are going to be some tests that most of us will run out of time on. It's also true that it's tough to advocate for accommodations for a high-achieving student (or actually even for a middle-level achiever in many instances). But if there really is some type of not-so-obvious challenge that is causing the issue, it's a good idea to try to understand what's up and to advocate for the accommodations. It's one thing to be ok with getting a lower score when you're in middle school and even high school perhaps, but what happens when an EG kid takes the MCATs without accommodations trying to get into medical school when the peers he's competing with are also typically HG+/EG? This is just one example, but there are undoubtedly other situations that might occur depending on where a student who is now a middle-school kid might one day find he/she wants to be for the career they decide they want to pursue or for entry into a university program they really really want to be in. I mentioned the MCAT situation because this happened to a relative of mine who is dyslexic but didn't have accommodations while in school. She was more than capable of being a doctor and had professors who thought she should absolutely be in medical school and most importantly - being a doctor was her dream. Yet she couldn't get her reading-associated scores of standardized tests high enough to qualify for the programs she wanted to be in. Her scores were high, just not high enough - and the issue was - she always ran out of time. Trying to get accommodations such as extended time was tough as an adult without a history of having had the accommodations during her early school years.

Re looking different, my ds is extremely sensitive about this - but extended time is one accommodation that really doesn't "look" all that different from other students. It depends of course on the test, the assignment and how it's handled by the school, but for the most part, this is one thing ds never flinched over in terms of thinking he appeared different.

Best wishes,

polarbear

78 is really low - I think that is moving into the single digit percentile category. If that measure is accurate, then it should be reflected in his ability to complete academic work in a timely manner as well as everyday activities. While it is reassuring that the tester thinks that he simply wasn't trying to go as fast as he could, I would check by timing how quickly he completes cognitive and other tasks. As he gets older, a low processing speed will cause increasing difficulties with academics in a school setting even with accommodations.

Deleted his scores.

Can you elaborate as to what this would like like in day to day activities? He's definitely inattentive at times, but once I get him to focus, he seems to be able to perform well.

He is able to complete school work in a timely manner if he focuses.

Given that his WJ was not too low for fluency, is there a chance that maybe he was just off that day? His fluency scores were definitely the lowest however, so maybe he was just really on that day.

ETA: I mistyped his writing fluency, it was 100, not 107. Still 51%. Handwriting has never been easy, it's a tough thing for him still.

She's slow with the actual calculations and takes a long time to retrieve math facts. So if you ask her 7X4 it might take her a few seconds to remember the answer. She has it memorized, but is slow with recall.
Her coding score was 8 and symbol search was 10, so not much better. Those were her two lowest scores on the WISC.