Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment Any thoughts on IQ testing?

Hi!

With WPPSI-III, does anyone know how many questions will a child need to get correct to improve a score from 145 to 150 for a 6yo? (We will not be repeating WPPSI within a year, but just wondering: if it was only a difference of 1-2 questions, maybe there is a potential to hit the DYS requirement with a different test. But if we are talking about quite a few questions, then....)

And for those children who have taken multiple IQ tests, how are the scores usually compared among the tests?

Does anyone have a recommendation or preferred IQ test for a child who is a perfectionist (i.e takes her time), write slowly and think carefully?

And, which might be a better IQ test for a child who answers questions without hearing/reading all the instructions?

Many thanks!

I don't know the answers to all of your questions, but I'll take a swing at those I do have some input on .


First, I must state that my dd#2 is a very erratic person. Her achievement scores on the NWEA MAPS (achievement tests given at school) vary by as much as 40 percentiles every time she takes the tests.

That aside, she has taken the WISC-IV twice, the SB-5 once (under less than ideal circumstances), and the RIAS. Her WISC scores were over 20 pts apart on the same test one year apart (higher the first time at 7.5 than at 8.5). Her SB-5 score was about 30 pts below her WISC-IV score from the year prior and about 10 pts below her WISC score from the test given at the same time. Her RIAS score was uninterpretable b/c the scores w/in subtests varied too much.

At worst, she is bright, but not gifted (a hair above 1 SD above the mean). At best, she is in the 99.9th percentile. I don't have any idea if these tests just aren't foolproof accurate or if there is some problem with my dd although the psych who tested her the second time tells us that she ruled out LDs/a 2E situation.

My general understanding is that the score for one person shouldn't go up or down by more than maybe 10 pts or a few percentiles depending on the age of the person. IQ scores from a younger age are less stable in general. If 150 is within the margin of testing error for his earlier score, it seems entirely possible that he would score that high if tested again. Then again, he could also score lower than before by a few points.

Reading all of the instructions shouldn't be an issue on an IQ test in that they are verbally administered. If he tunes out and doesn't listen to the instructions, that is another issue. All of the tests require him to listen to instructions to a similar degree. I believe that there are more "teaching" or practice tests on the SB-5 than the WISC-IV. Basically, there are more opportunities to practice the piece that you are about to be tested on before your performance counts on the SB, so that may be of some benefit if you are uncertain as to whether he would just start going w/out fully understanding what is being asked of him.

Hi Cricket2,

Thank you for sharing your experience. What a roller-coaster your DD#2 has experienced! Also, thanks for the info on SB-5. We will definite consider it.

Mag

Hi Mag,
For a child that takes her time and thinks things through, if possible, months or weeks before the test, role play and play games about making mistakes and how it is ok.

Have child go through multiple scenarios where they have to guess and not know their answer is right/wrong. Like how many jelly beans in a (small) jar etc. Then get to eat it! Show how you/parents deal with mistakes and the "oh well" and "oops" didn't get it right, smile, shrug, move on, etc. I'm sure you know all this already, just saying.

Having a good tester is very important. Knows just enough to move the child along but will wait for those un-timed questions. And is happy to let the child think and think. Won't rush the child. Will encourage the child to take a wild guess. Say things like "you're not suppose to know these, it is just for fun" etc

hope that helps a bit

Hi Jesse,

Thank you for your helpful suggestions! We will give it a try. DD and DS will LOVE the jelly bean exercise big time!

Mag

If you have a 6yr old then you can have him take WISC-IV. You only need 145 score on WISC and DYS also considers the GIA index which doesn't include the processing speed. If your child hit 145 on WPPSI chances are quite good he will reach 145 on WISC too.

As for WPPSI and SBV we did try this (expensive) experiment. DS5 hit 99.9% on both PIQ and FSIQ on WPPSI but he was short of the 150 cut. His VIQ too was in the 140's.

He took SBV a few months later. His non verbal IQ on SBV was the same as his PIQ on WPPSI. His verbal IQ took quite a hit but I wouldn't blame the SBV for it as he still pulled two 19 in the verbal section. The verbal section comes at the end of the test and to us it looks like by then he was done with the test and put hardly any effort in it. His oral language achievement test results are much more aligned with his WPPSI VIQ than the one from SBV.

HTH. Feel free to PM me.

Thanks, LMom! Just PM you.

If you think your Dd is at that Davidson's level, I would retest again, after a year or so, using the WISC. Did you have achievement tests done?

My dd is in a similar boat, she hit the 99.9% on WPPSI, but not the 150. Since she is bilingual, we plan to retest again with WISC in a year or two; and once (and if) she has hit an academic stride.

Her sister's achievement (w/o formal testing) increased dramatically in a year, so if we see something similar (reading advanced chapter books in K, for example), then we'll do the achievement testing.

As PP have said, there are portions of the WISC that are timed, bit not that many (blocks for example has a timed component). YSP will look at GAI as stated above, which removes processing speed.

Finally, I know of kids who have been accepted with a 99.9 WPPSI, good qualifying achievement scores, and a strong portfolio.

Hi Mam,

Thanks for sharing your experiences. I think we will see what the achievement (WJ-III) shows and go from there. We are also hoping to receive the subset scores for WPPSI from the psychologist in the "result analysis" meeting.

The big question the psychologist has asked is what to do now?!

Thanks again!
Mag

Definitely do achievement and see what it shows. My ds was just short on the WPPSI (148 FS), but had a few qualifying+ achievement test scores and a good portfolio, and he was accepted. Good luck!