WPPSI in LOW 90's???

[Anonymous]

Hi folks- There has been lots of speculation about kids in 99% and hovering around 85%-- what about low 90's? DOes DS have a chance? Cute, even tempered, highly intelligent, but not 99%. Give a mom some hope???

[Anonymous]

Don't worry too much about the WPPSI. The schools look at as much of the whole picture as available, especially teacher recommendations (which are recommendations about the parents) and the school visit. My daughter had a composite in the mid 90s and got in everywhere she applied (she goes to a school that is oft-discussed on this board).

[Anonymous]

My kids scored in the low and mid 90s as well and attend a Big 3. My understanding is any test score that clears the bar (85th percentile, 90th percentile, whatever it is) shows that the child is capable of being successful academically at the school. Beyond that, other factors make more of a difference than additional WPPSI points. Thus the 90th percentile kid with a charming personality, or connected parents, or whatever who gets in and the 99.9% kid who perhaps bombs the play visit or gets a lukewarm teacher recommendation and does not. Good luck to you, OP.

[Anonymous]

How many kids really get 99% on the test?

[Anonymous]

Lots get 99%, but when they are re-tested at age 8, they generally do not score 99%.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lots get 99%, but when they are re-tested at age 8, they generally do not score 99%.

What do the WISC scores typically look like for kids around 7/8. Trying to feel hopeful about high 80s.

[Anonymous]

Percentiles tell you where in a national sample of kids your kid would fall. So a kid at the 99th percentile did better than 99 per cent of kids (99 out of 100). A kid at the 90th percentile did better than 90 out of 100 kids. And so on.

The complication is that kids in this area who are applying to private schools are going to perform better than that randomly selected national sample. So a kid at the 99th percentile nationally might only be at the 90th percentile compared to other applicants.

That said, the pp who said that as long as a kid meets some basic score they will then be evaluated on playdates, recommendations, etc. is exactly right. And the cutoff is not firm - it is flexible - so a charming, successful kid in a priority group might be forgiven a lower WPPSI score, as will a kid who has English as a second language or some other extenuating circumstance.

[Anonymous]

I'm sort of shocked- my DS is in 92%. After reading about all these 99's, I assumed he would be a 99, so I'm really dissappointed with the 92. I've never met a kid smarter, quicker, more verbal, etc than he is. Of course, I'm the parent, so I guess I'm supposed to feel that way. Still, who are these 99% kids?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm sort of shocked- my DS is in 92%. After reading about all these 99's, I assumed he would be a 99, so I'm really dissappointed with the 92. I've never met a kid smarter, quicker, more verbal, etc than he is. Of course, I'm the parent, so I guess I'm supposed to feel that way. Still, who are these 99% kids?

Both my DCs scored 99+ on the WPPSI. They're probably just like your kid, but were lucky on the day they took the test, perhaps got a little more sleep the night before, etc. We were told that the WPPSI is a snapshot - nothing more or less - and is not necessarily a predictor of future achievement. I did not immediately sign them up for every gifted program as they're just bright, not geniuses.

I think the WPPSI can be very helpful in diagnosing learning and sensory issues that may not be noticed until 2nd or 3rd grade when reading ability, etc starts to converge. The WPPSI has a lot of utility, but is not necessarily definitive in its results.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm sort of shocked- my DS is in 92%. After reading about all these 99's, I assumed he would be a 99, so I'm really dissappointed with the 92. I've never met a kid smarter, quicker, more verbal, etc than he is. Of course, I'm the parent, so I guess I'm supposed to feel that way. Still, who are these 99% kids?

I sure hope your child never reads or hears these words....

[Anonymous]

21:53 Did you mean that kids that score 99+ can have learning and sensory issues? Or am I completely misreading this? (I'm tired from a long weekend.) My ds scored 99+ and it freaked us out a bit bcse while I think that he is a smart kid, it's normal smart and I think that the score seems very high. But it makes me feel a bit better that there seem to be so many 99s floating around out there. That said, do you think that schools look down on that score as being out of the norm?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm sort of shocked- my DS is in 92%. After reading about all these 99's, I assumed he would be a 99, so I'm really dissappointed with the 92. I've never met a kid smarter, quicker, more verbal, etc than he is. Of course, I'm the parent, so I guess I'm supposed to feel that way. Still, who are these 99% kids?

They are kids who have parents that post here.
They are typically from upper middle class families (less likely upper class), with educated parents who turn every event into an educational experience. These kids get brain quested and tangrammed in school or at home. It is pumped in. They have a genetically high IQ, but the environmental aspect is fine tuned and manipulated. Thus the high WPPSI scores. Later on in life, the fine tuning and tweaking count less. So some of the 99%ile kids will get high normal scores on their SATs! Alarm!!! Because the IQ is really in the 85-95%ile range.

[Anonymous]

hey are kids who have parents that post here.
They are typically from upper middle class families (less likely upper class), with educated parents who turn every event into an educational experience. These kids get brain quested and tangrammed in school or at home. It is pumped in. They have a genetically high IQ, but the environmental aspect is fine tuned and manipulated. Thus the high WPPSI scores. Later on in life, the fine tuning and tweaking count less. So some of the 99%ile kids will get high normal scores on their SATs! Alarm!!! Because the IQ is really in the 85-95%ile range.

the NYC posters need to go back to their own urbanbaby forum. please? preschools here do not prep as they do, due to parental pressure, in New York. no tangrams or their cousins.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:kids in this area who are applying to private schools are going to perform better than that randomly selected national sample. So a kid at the 99th percentile nationally might only be at the 90th percentile compared to other applicants.

My gut says you're right that kids in metropolitan areas like DC (or NY, Boston, Chi, Phila, Miami, Houston, StL, SF, LA, Seattle, etc) are going to score better on WPPSI than kids in other regions, but I've never seen any actual evidence to back this up. Have you? If anyone knows of any articles or studies that compare WPPSI results between cities, could you please link them? This info might be hard to find though because I doubt private testing consultants report WPPSI scores to anyone. However, maybe one way to compare regions is to compare scores on ERB or other widely-administered tests. Does anyone from the DCUM data/statistics team have any good ideas/info on these points?

By the way, OP, I think 92% is a fine score, and your kid will do great. Don't stress.

[Anonymous]

Because the WPPSI is given to preschoolers, it is a less reliable instrument than the WISC, which is designed for older children. Kids from upper middle class familes do tend to score higher on WPPSI than kids with less enriched backgrounds. And I don't mean they were "tangrammed" (LOL love that), but have had a variety of experiences not available to children born in families with fewer resources. The WISC is less susceptible to this kind of background influence because at the age it is given, these differences have less influence on the child's ability to take the test.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wechsler_Preschool_and_Primary_Scale_of_Intelligence
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wechsler_Intelligence_Scale_for_Children