Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment Anyone's child done WPPSI and then WISC-V later?

I imagine that not all types of special provisions require a full educational assessment (ie extra rest breaks for a physical health condition). But the issues my children have do require this. And if you get the timing wrong you can be required to produce ANOTHER one for university provisions! It varies from state to state exactly what the rules are. But in general the IQ test is required as part of a full psychologist educational assessment, either to prove the disability, or depending on the nature of the issue, to highlight at least normal IQ and the underachievement that would be caused by lack of provisions. Some provisions specifically require proof that there is a normal (or above) IQ and that the problem is not potential related, because IQ itself is not grounds for certain kinds of provision (ie you might be allowed extra reading time for dyslexia, but NOT for low IQ).

I can't speak to your part of the world, but in mine, updated cognitive (IQ) testing is routinely required to access certain accommodations for university entrance exams and post-secondary education in general. In fact, some post-secondary institutions (though not the SATs or ACTs) require testing with an adult instrument (aka, the WAIS or SB, or in some cases the WJ), which means that even if one has recent testing, one may need to find a way to obtain new testing with a different instrument in order to access accommodations at the university level.

BTW, that's yet another level of observing score stability through the developmental years: WPPSI to WISC to WAIS. The principal observations I've noted (anecdotally, of course) are that children who score in the upper extreme see their scores flattened (naturally) due to the absence of extended norms on the WAIS, which effectively lowers the ceiling. Learners with learning disabilities that affect access to text often see score depression in the verbal indices, often with increased diversity of performance within the VCI (e.g., differential impact of reading delays on fact-weighted vs reasoning-weighted verbal tasks). Certain kinds of 2e learners sometimes see their scores rise, as they learn how to play the testing game (e.g., often GT/ASD learners).

And then, of course, the actual task composition is somewhat different on all three tests, which doesn't affect most students much, but does sometimes affect learners with low-frequency profiles.

We tested DD with WWPSI for CTY at 6 and then she did the WISC for gifted program at 8. It was about the same and about the same as tests done earlier. She hasn't had much variance since preschool. All tests were done for school or program admittance. I was curious to see what happens at 21, after final brain development. She is really pushing herself now at school and I notice her strategic abilities are getting stronger, her risk taking, going around obstacles. But that would be just for curiousity. And she is only 15 now. Based on where she was at 8, going through difficult life changing events, I am thinking it would go up through this period.

CTY were taking IQ scores then?

They still take them for preK-2nd grade.

Ah! Thanks AEH.

Caveat - eligibility is valid only till the end of 2nd grade...

https://cty.jhu.edu/talent/eligibility/online.html

I see you (or your computer!) re-posted this question recently...

Finally decided to take the plunge and get DS (5y 3m) tested on the WPPSI in 2 weeks. I was initially going to wait till he was 6 to take the WISC, then I realized the WPPSI takes an hour but the WISC takes almost twice the amount of time to administer. Don't think DS will tolerate 2 hours even in 9 months' time.

So far what I'm hearing is that the WPPSI is either an underestimate or similar to a future WISC (if the child was focused that day?)

What do you tell a 5yo about the WPPSI? I'm worried he'll reply with silly answers for fun and/or take too long with the processing subtests out of perfectionsim?

First, the average administration of the WISC is under an hour, so as a baseline, it wasn't necessarily going to take two hours. OTOH, in a putatively GT kiddo, it would probably take longer than average...

Second, to be clear, the WPPSI is just as good a measure of current performance as the WISC. I.e., the validity and reliability of the score would not necessarily be different between a 6 yo taking the WPPSI and the same 6 yo taking the WISC (other than ceiling effects in the same putatively GT individual, of course). The difference is not in the instruments, but in the developmental level of the child, and how that impacts testability and score stability. IOW, the instability in formal numbers originates from the child, not from the test. So testing now or in a few months is probably not going to affect that aspect much. Unless you expect your DC to mature significantly in test-taking tolerance in that time (which it doesn't appear you do!).

Anyway, I typically tell my students (including the little ones that I used to work with more frequently), in language developmentally appropriate to them, something like this: We're doing a collection of different activities [not "games", please!] that help us understand how you learn best, because everyone learns a bit differently. Understanding how people learn helps teachers and parents to do better at teaching them in a way that fits them the best. Some parts of the activities might be easier, and some might be harder, and that's normal. It's just part of how I learn about the way you learn. Just do the best you can, and don't worry if I ask you to go onto the next one when you think you might not be done. Sometimes that's part of the rules of the activities. Please ask me any questions you like about the testing. Sometimes I won't be allowed to answer the questions because of the rules, or I might ask you to say your question again when we're all done, but otherwise, I'll answer them as much as I can.

And yes, I really do answer questions about the nature and process of testing, what tasks are supposed to measure, etc., although for certain questions, not until after testing is complete. I would happily explain their final results to them, after all (and do, routinely, with my adolescent students). They need to understand themselves as learners more than anyone else does. (Although little ones, who have less stability in their profiles, likely wouldn't benefit from quite as much detail as older students. I also historically haven't gotten as many questions from the preschool/primary set, anyway.) As a parent, you'll know best what level of information makes sense for your child, of course.

And btw, if perfectionism affects the processing speed subtests noticeably, that also has clinical significance. In any case, there's still a GAI, without the processing speed tasks.