Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment SB5 question

my DS7 recently got a GAI in the gifted range (139) on the WISC but his FSIQ fell short at 119 due to an 83 on the PSI (long thread about this in twice ex. forum)..

He has always been a hightly visual learner and is hampered by processing speed issues (especially on math facts). He also has slow, laborious handwriting.

I really would like him to get the SB-5 administered instead of the WISC when he is up for his special ed review next year. I've heard its easier on kids who have speed issues. I'd like him to get an overall gifted score to bolster my asssertation that he should get enrichment services for his strength areas (reading, science, arts). His reading is more than 4 years above grade level (1st grader at 5th grade level) and he only started reading 11 months ago at age 6.

He was given an SB-5 two years ago by a phD student and he did do 10 points higher overall then the WPPSSI that was adminstered the same year. So I'm thinking its a better test for him somehow..But those scores were before his developmental "surge" and his FSIQ at age 4 was only 89 on WISC and 99 on SB-5 - how things have changed!

But my question is, does the SB-5 have an equivalent of a GAI to fall back on if overall he still doesn't make the cut. At least with GAI i would have something.

irene

i didn't see any repllies so i wanted to help by making my post more straightforward.

1) is it true that SB-5 yields better scores than WISC for kids with speed issues (on subtests like coding).?
2) does the SB-5 have an index or score that reflects only reasoning skills and not the executive function/attention/speed element?

thanks
irene

I'll do some digging for you later on #2 and see if I can come back with more info. In re to #1, it depends on the child. The SB5 has the reputation of being a good test (in terms of showing the kid in his/her best light/getting higher #s) for mathematically inclined kids who are penalized by the speed aspect of the WISC -- probably not so much so for verbally gifted kids who are penalized by timed aspects of the WISC.

My oldest had a FSIQ in the upper 120s on the WISC IV due to the processing speed subtest (in the 42nd percentile for her) and a GAI in the 130s, like your son. On the SB5 (which she probably didn't do her best on due to nerves), her overall score was very similar to her FSIQ on the WISC. Reading, science, and language are her strongest areas as well. She's tested btwn 4-16 grades above her current level in all areas of language (writing, spelling, reading) since she was in 2nd grade. As a 6th grader now, the school tests for reading top out around 12th, which she hit in 4th, so I don't know "how" advanced she is there now. Anecdotally, the SB wasn't necessarily a better test for dd#1 despite the lack of time penalties.

How was his working memory score on the WISC? I think that part of it may be that dd's working memory score was very high on the WISC, so her FSIQ was still pretty near gifted even with the speed part dragging it down. The SB5 has more of a visual memory subtest rather than an auditory memory subtest, so that may or may not be better for your son in that part.

Let me start by saying I am by means an expert on this question, but I am a mom whose son took the SB5 recently. So, I do know that they have different groupings and different scoring methods. I wish I had his eval in front of me to explain more.

Here is a quote from the publisher of the SB5 that explains more. There is an ABIQ and CSS scores that are different and incorporate different elements. And also the SB5 isn't effected by processing speed since it isn't timed. There are a few parts that I think have some timing involved, but nothing significant at all.

Here's that quote...
"These subtest scores combine to form four types of composite scores: factor index, domain, abbreviated, and full scale (each with scaled score means of 100, SD of 15, score range 40�160). Two subtests (one verbal, the other its nonverbal complement) combine to form each factor index. There are two domain scales: Nonverbal IQ (NVIQ) (combines the five nonverbal subtests) and Verbal IQ (VIQ) (combines the five verbal subtests). Two routing subtests combine to form the Abbreviated Battery IQ (ABIQ). Finally, the Full Scale IQ (FSIQ) combines all 10 subtests. The Change-Sensitive Scores (CSS) use item response theory scaling to convert the raw score totals on the composite scales described above into criterion-referenced levels of ability. These scales, as with the norm-referenced scores, have excellent measurement properties. Because the CSSs reference absolute levels of ability, they provide a way to compare changes in an individual�s scores over time".

And here is the link if you are interested

http://www.riverpub.com/products/sb5/details.html

his working memory index score was also not great at 99.. but not sure now whether or not this is auditory memory or visual memory that the WISC is measuring. Anyone know? He is notoriously bad with auditory processing..So this might be a big plus for the SB-5.. though he loves listening to books on tape which i think is really helping with that.

The WISC measures auditory short term memory. My younger dd had a profile like you describe your son's. On the WISC, her processing speed and working memory were avg, but the verbal and perceptual subtests were nearly at the ceiling of the test. For her, b/c her other two were so high, her FSIQ still came out at 130 even with the two lower scores figured in and the GAI was in the upper 140s. She's taking the SB5 as part of a new assessment, although she was sick when she took it (headache/woozy, stuffy nose, etc.), so I'm not sure how great/accurate the scores will be. I'll let you know how they compare to her WISC scores, though. More anecdotal evidence -- lol!

thanks everyone this is all good info.

Look for this bulletin on-line:

Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales, Fifth Edition
Assessment Service Bulletin Number 4

it is linked at the following page down under RESOURCES:
http://www.assess.nelson.com/test-ind/stan-b5.html

This bulletin contains a different formula from the FSIQ on its page 5 to tabulate a score for gifted students:

Intellectual Giftedness
Gifted NVFR + NVKN + NVQR + VFR + VKN + VQR + VVS .97 0.932Sum + 34.8

Nonverbal Gifted NVFR + NVKN + NVQR + NVVS .95 1.596Sum + 36.2