Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment gifted with average IQ?

My son has shown tremendous signs of giftedness since a very young age. Many people had suggested having him tested, but at the time I figured it wasn't really necessary. This year he started kindergarten (5yrs old) and began having behavior problems in school. He began seeing a school counselor (grad student) and we decided to test for both ADHD (recommended by my son's teacher) and IQ (WISC-IV). The test results showed that he did not have ADHD and only showed an average IQ level, much to my surprise. It wasn't that I expected him to have an extremely high IQ, but I did expect it to be higher than the results showed. It doesn't seem to make sense. The counselor administered the test and I'm wondering could his lack of experience affect the results? By observation, my son is clearly gifted, so should his IQ be average?

hi and welcome!

We have had a similar experience with our DS9. We had him tested at age 5 and were extremely surprised to get the results that he was a "bright" boy but not really "gifted" WE put him kindergarten and had to pull him out by the second half of grade 2 because he was just too "different" and was having behavior issues.

We are presently homeschooling him because he's at least 3 "grade" levels beyond his age and by all appearances quite gifted.

So - as many other posters have mentioned here, testing is just a snapshot in time and many factors play in the result that you are given at that moment.

You are his parent. You know who he is and if your gut tells you the results you were given don't add up - trust yourself and your child.

I will have to say that I'm nervous about testing again because of our first experience and also at this point "knowing" an IQ wouldn't make any difference to our educational path. But that's just us!

((hugs))

My youngest son's kindergarten teacher thought he was ADHD. After helping him with his difficulties with letters and numbers, I had his eyes checked and found out he had amblyopia. After vision therapy and patching, his ADHD symptoms disappeared. School testing did not place him in the gifted range, however, I think he still has his talents in art and music (he can learn and play the violin and piano by ear).

He is very shy and tends not to want to draw attention to himself so sometimes, I wonder if he holds back

Tests could possibly be administered incorrectly. Some districts conduct testing through their GT department instead of the classroom teacher. Perhaps you can try another test next year in a different setting.

I wonder what you mean by average? If just not hitting 130, that might still be above average...Also, experience of the test administrator is said to make a lot of difference.

Here is an interesting link, does your child fit one or more of these descriptions?

http://nswagtc.org.au/info/identification/characteristics.html#checklist_menu

Gomongo - definitely the tester makes a big difference if he/she is not experienced in testing gifted kids. If your child is a thinker and needs time, the tester may have just thought he didn't know the answer. Also, my district tested my son at 4yrs old, and once he hit above avg, they stopped the testing b/c that is all they wanted to know.

Also, you have to look at the spread of scores. If you like, you can post them here for others to comment on or you can PM them to our resident expert Dottie and she'll give her thoughts. For ex: is VCI and/or PRI high with a very low WMI or PSI? If there is a large spread, you can calculate GAI using VCI and PRI only.

Also, it could definitely be the child's age. I'd recommend testing again closer to 7yrs old. I think the minimum age for the WISCIV is 6.

When I say average I mean just above average, not even out of the average range. It's so puzzling. He definitely fits many of the descriptions from the link you sent. He's extremely verbal, could speak 50 words clearly when he was one, was speaking like a 5 year old when he was just 2. Has an amazing ability to understand how things work and I'm often in awe at the questions he asks and how he can point out inconsistencies in situations. He has a passion for science and is constantly performing his own "experiments" around the house -- this began w/o any prompting from me. He also has quite a natural athletic ability, could dribble a full-size basketball all the way to the park (about 0.5 mile) when he was 18 mos, first time on skis (age 3) he could ski down the mountain no problem w/o lessons, when we took his training wheels off his bike right after he turned 3 he just rode away like he'd been riding for months. He learns very quickly whether he's being taught academics or athletics. So, in my eyes and by the definitions I've seen listed he's gifted. So why such an average IQ?

Look at the subtests of the WISC IV. Was there discrepancies (significant difference between the scores) or were the scores all similar? Discrepancies can mean you have gifted child with learning issues. Don't just look at the FSIQ.

All the scores were roughly the same.

When we moved as a teenager, the school insisted on retesting my IQ for entry into the gifted program...my IQ dropped 16 points on that test and disqualified me from the program. 1)I was old enough (15) to remember that test and the tester was horrible. I remember noticing at one point that she was timing me under the table. 2) I always performed in school like I was gifted...I performed better that 40 other "gifted" kids at my HS and went to college on a full academic scholarship +

So IQ scores can come out low on any given day, but theoretically not high, and IQ doesn't tell you everything.

Brownie

Any kid can have a bad day test-wise. It can be hard to pin down what skewed the results. It might be the test admin, but it could also be low blood sugar, minor illness, stress, or being over tired. Sometimes it's a combination effect. Young children are particularly likely to have trouble "showing what they know" on a test that may take several hours.

I'd suggest that you try again in another year, with a different test admin. If you do retest, be aware that there are rules about how often you can use the same instrument for an individual.