Unexpected WISC-V scores - what now?

[Anonymous]

You are NOT allowed to retake for at least another year

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You know your DD best. She is very bright. Everyone can have an off test day, and many parents cheat by prepping their children well in advance. The good news: your DD can take comparables tests. If your DD does well, these results can be shared with private schools as a better reflection of her abilities. This eliminates the pressure of waiting a year to readminister the WISIC.

I would recommend Dr. Daisey Pascualvaca, 3301 New Mexico Ave, NW.

Second for recommending if you don't mind spending some $, setting up an appointment with Dr Daisy P. - she is awesome and can help you understand and interpret and contextualize your child's scores, including if there are indications of any contributing factors (processing etc) and also could figure out if there are any other tests or items that the schools could take into account if they make sense.

We did the full neuropsych battery - including WISC - with her (DS has dyslexia and ADD). She is trained and able to figure out how to administer the tests with kids based on their various situations (such as just identifying how impulsivity can impact a score).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thank you for all the replies. DC scored in the average range for IQ (104), but low average for working memory (91) and high-average for GAI (116). All the other scores were average. I feel silly complaining about average scores, but DC has always excelled in school, which makes me wonder about the discrepency. We are also applying to some very competitive schools, and I don’t want DC’s chances to be jeopardized...

Which exam did your DC take? The GAI only shows up on WPPSI whereas the FSIQ is the score on the WISC-V. Something doesn't add up...

[Anonymous]

My son tests in the 90+ percentiles for GAI, and 4th percentile (that's right, FOURTH) for processing speed. He is diagnosed with severe ADHD and goes to MCPS's program for gifted and learning disabled students.

A significant spread between GAI and working memory/processing speed is a red flag for learning disorders, but perhaps your son's spread is not significant enough - talk to the psych. Even if there nothing to diagnose, it doesn't hurt to implement some strategies regarding focus (seated in the front near the teacher, away from distractions) and developing automatisms when doing mundane tasks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thank you for all the replies. DC scored in the average range for IQ (104), but low average for working memory (91) and high-average for GAI (116). All the other scores were average. I feel silly complaining about average scores, but DC has always excelled in school, which makes me wonder about the discrepency. We are also applying to some very competitive schools, and I don’t want DC’s chances to be jeopardized...

Which exam did your DC take? The GAI only shows up on WPPSI whereas the FSIQ is the score on the WISC-V. Something doesn't add up...

There is a GAI for WISC-V.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You are NOT allowed to retake for at least another year

Who doesn't allow you to do it? Who do you think is stopping people? There is no law that prevents it and there is no tracking system. Of course, one can have their child tested again. Just pick a different tester, pay the fee and take the test.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are NOT allowed to retake for at least another year

Who doesn't allow you to do it? Who do you think is stopping people? There is no law that prevents it and there is no tracking system. Of course, one can have their child tested again. Just pick a different tester, pay the fee and take the test.

Yes. We did that after a 6 months interval. If you do your research on the WISC-V and talk to WISC-V research scientists (not the teachers who know nothing and simply parrot what they've been told, and obviously not the psychologist you are paying!), you will find that the gain your child can make if he repeats the test after a few months is insignificant. IQ tests are designed to be prep-proof - they do not test knowledge, but the way your brain works. While that may not be 100% accurate, it largely works that way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thank you all so much. I’ve been struggling with this. But all your own stories of your kids in similar situations, and your reassurances, make this much easier to handle. I need to accept that in the grand scheme of things, a test on an 8-year-old won’t determine her entire future.
Thank you again.

Not to dash your hopes but yeah, it's pretty likely that your child is just going to fall in the very average range. There are so many kids with your child's profile and scores and processing speed isn't really fixable. There are some things that can hep improve it slightly but if you were thinking straight A's all the time with no effort that's not going to happen. Once the homework load picks up, you will see the impact of processing speed. Slower reader of more in depth texts and books so it might take several hours to get through a chapter. It can take much longer to write an essay. and so on.

[Anonymous]

Why did you have your child take this test?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why did you have your child take this test?

To apply to private schools? Why do you think she have her child take the test when she is asking the question on this board?

[Anonymous]

OP- my DS took an IQ test in K for a gifted program, end of second for a neuropsych (ADHD) and the WISC V in 5th for a re-eval for ADHD. The result- FSIQ remained stable, but the subtest scores for reasoning fluctuated wildly. For instance, in 2nd grade DS received a 19 (ceiling) on matrix reasoning, in 5th he got a 12, but hit the ceiling on verbal reasoning (19s). The only scores that remained stable were performance scores (working memory and processing).

My DS was tested by three different testers (I wanted to omit the possibility of confirmation bias)- all said that IQs aren't really stable during childhood. You can test a child at age six and age ten and see a twenty point difference- this, from an IQ tester. In fact, I read a study that the differences can be just as dramatic during adolescence because the brain is still developing.

I think IQ tests are a good tool *if* they are used in conjunction with other tools- as the other pps noted, processing plays a huge role. Our latest tester said that if my DS had been allowed even a little bit more time on the VS portion of the test, he would have scored at least fifteen points higher on that portion, which aligns with my beliefs that he is an exceptionally gifted visual spatial problem solver, with high average processing speed. In real life, he would have that time.

I would use the test to look closely at those performance scores- they are a bit lower and may be having a major impact on the overall score. I would not assume that your DD's reasoning scores are 116 if that doesn't fit what you know about her. We were told that my DS (language processing learning disability) would struggle significantly with language arts and writing- fast forward to MS and he is in accelerated language arts, reading at well past the high school level and scored in the high 90s percentile on both the MAP and CoGAT. I would go with what *you* know and if the score provides some useful information--maybe performance scores warrant some looking into- do that, but don't assume that's your DD's IQ or that it's fixed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP- my DS took an IQ test in K for a gifted program, end of second for a neuropsych (ADHD) and the WISC V in 5th for a re-eval for ADHD. The result- FSIQ remained stable, but the subtest scores for reasoning fluctuated wildly. For instance, in 2nd grade DS received a 19 (ceiling) on matrix reasoning, in 5th he got a 12, but hit the ceiling on verbal reasoning (19s). The only scores that remained stable were performance scores (working memory and processing).

My DS was tested by three different testers (I wanted to omit the possibility of confirmation bias)- all said that IQs aren't really stable during childhood. You can test a child at age six and age ten and see a twenty point difference- this, from an IQ tester. In fact, I read a study that the differences can be just as dramatic during adolescence because the brain is still developing.

I think IQ tests are a good tool *if* they are used in conjunction with other tools- as the other pps noted, processing plays a huge role. Our latest tester said that if my DS had been allowed even a little bit more time on the VS portion of the test, he would have scored at least fifteen points higher on that portion, which aligns with my beliefs that he is an exceptionally gifted visual spatial problem solver, with high average processing speed. In real life, he would have that time.

I would use the test to look closely at those performance scores- they are a bit lower and may be having a major impact on the overall score. I would not assume that your DD's reasoning scores are 116 if that doesn't fit what you know about her. We were told that my DS (language processing learning disability) would struggle significantly with language arts and writing- fast forward to MS and he is in accelerated language arts, reading at well past the high school level and scored in the high 90s percentile on both the MAP and CoGAT. I would go with what *you* know and if the score provides some useful information--maybe performance scores warrant some looking into- do that, but don't assume that's your DD's IQ or that it's fixed.

...pp here, all of that "too much information" was only meant to convey that IQ is one of many tools that you can use- but it's not final judgement on intellect or potential and doesn't supersede what you know about your DD. My DS is just one kid- but per above, we were told he would need a lot of extra help with writing, understanding abstract language, etc. We're not dismissive or believing the problem has entirely gone away, we just realizing that a lot of brain development occurred between that pronouncement and now--and DS is doing quite well in subjects he was predicted to struggle with.

[Anonymous]

I honestly wouldn't worry about it. Have you read Nurture Shock? I believe they said that IQ doesn't begin to be accurate until 9 or 10. Educators know that, too. What they are looking for are learning issues, like processing speed problems.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are NOT allowed to retake for at least another year

Who doesn't allow you to do it? Who do you think is stopping people? There is no law that prevents it and there is no tracking system. Of course, one can have their child tested again. Just pick a different tester, pay the fee and take the test.

Yes. We did that after a 6 months interval. If you do your research on the WISC-V and talk to WISC-V research scientists (not the teachers who know nothing and simply parrot what they've been told, and obviously not the psychologist you are paying!), you will find that the gain your child can make if he repeats the test after a few months is insignificant. IQ tests are designed to be prep-proof - they do not test knowledge, but the way your brain works. While that may not be 100% accurate, it largely works that way.

I assume when you took your DC to the examiner, they already asked where to send the scores. If you informed them of the places you are applying to already, I am sure those test scores are sent. It will be weird to have another examiner send ANOTHER set of test scores if you do decide to RETAKE the exam. Not only will this raise a RED flag with admissions, they will assume you are desperate. Not a good idea to retake just because of "average" scores.
By the way, why do all PP assume the OP is talking about their DD. I read all the OP's post and clearly it says DC...which does not mean DD(female)

[Anonymous]

Don't get too stressed regarding the WISC scores. There are many other factors that come into play for admissions...even to the Big 3. Work on the other aspects of the application and no need to bring up this topic even during the interview. Besides, most school will do a "test" of some sort during the DC's child visit day. The schools may look at their own test more than the WISC since it was administered in house and they know what they are looking for in their applicant pool.