Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment Help -- next step in testing (newbie)

I am perplexed as to the next step in testing for my DD11 (5th grade). While I know she is not in the PG category, she has been ID'd AIG in the local school (at one point was the ONLY one ID'd in her grade level), has participated in CTY and Duke TIP. She also has testing anxiety issues, perfectionist issues, handwriting and spelling issues (I believe she has some form of dysgraphia, although not confirmed with OT testing), and thus issues with timed tests.


[She DID NOT like the psychologist and did not respond well to the idea of lower level questions and stressed through the rest of the test when she did not know a word.]



What should I do next? SB-V? Retest on WISC-IV and if so, should I ask for substitutions?

Thanks for all your help!

My concern lies more in having current IQ scores for her because of the possibility of moving at the end of the current school year. This becomes an issue because our state does not have consistent policies for AG programs. (You can be ID'd and served in one school system, but not in another.)

Thanks for any additional insight.

Thanks -- sorry I wasn't clear on my first post. (Posting is new to me.)

Unfortunately, I have no insight as to what scores I will need, because when we move, it can be to almost half of the districts in our state and each one sets its own policies for AIG service. I just don't want to lose services we already have.

My own personal experience is with the 1970s version of the SB -- I had a great experience testing. However, I know the SB-V is a different test and my daughter is not me. My concern with this DD and the SB-V is whether her lower PRI will result in lower, not higher scores. But on the other hand, I know there would be an advantage to having less time emphasis. While I would love to see both sets of scores (retest WISC-IV and SB-V), I only can afford one of them at this point.

In our personal experience, even with a child who scored much lower on speed related tests on the WISC-IV, the SB-V score was still much lower overall than the WISC. I have also heard, as the pp alluded to, that the SB-V is generally scoring lower for many kids especially older kids. The SB-V is also supposed to score more highly for kids whose strength lie in the mathematical areas. Your dd seems to favor verbal areas.

If she needs higher and/or more recent IQ scores, I'd be inclined to go with the WISC-IV again with a tester who has experience with gifted kids.

Also in our experience, a lot of districts are more concerned about high achievement scores than high IQ scores. Our state, too has varying qualifications for GT programs from district to district. My one dd with the erratic scores on different IQ tests does have a WISC-IV GAI well above the 99th percentile but does not have a GT identification currently in her school b/c her group achievement scores aren't consistently that high.

I'd take a look at what the possible requirements for GT identification are in the various districts b/c she might get in just with the achievement scores you have.

Here's a thread from November that looks at WISC & SB:
http://giftedissues.davidsongifted.org/BB/ubbthreads.php/topics/60444/1.html

My DS has done both the SB-V and the WISC. While his FSIQ on both was very close to identical, his GAI on the WISC put him considerably higher and is a more accurate reflection of the student he is in school. I think the SB-V was a good measure of his global abilities but the WISC showed us some weaker spots and some higher spots as well.

Overall, we have had trouble getting the SB-V data to be accepted by school professionals at his current and former schools. They seem to be more familiar with the WISC scores and both his current principal and school psychologist were familiar with the GAI over FSIQ debate. But when looking at his SB-V score they originally said "See, he's just not that gifted." For whatever reason, a score in the 140s on the SB-V didn't seem to resonate but a score in the 140s on the WISC was like a whole different ball game. I don't understand why but that's what we've seen at two different schools.

Yep- totally clueless outdated SB thoughts. The SB-V was translating in their heads to SB-LM and they just didn't get it. Despite by fancy Hoagies table :-) But the WISC scores a few months later and they were like "Ohhhh, he's really gifted!"

Duh... same kid... same scores... different name!

Dandy: Thanks for the link to the previous discussion on the SB-V v. WISC-IV. From that discussion, however, I'm still not sure whether she would be at an advantage or disadvantage on the SB-V with her strong non-verbal (from COGAT) combined with her relatively low Quantitative scores. Her math reasoning is definitely a strength, as she also had a 129 on Math Reasoning on the WIAT-II compared to a 107 Numerical Operations on the same test. ... and then to factor in potential issues with being timed, I just am not sure.

CAMom: You've got to love the "Duh" factor. It's amazing how few administrators actually understand gifted testing much less educating gifted children.