Parents are not always honest about their kids' accomplishments.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sure, it's easier for kids of privileged parents. Some of the questions are general knowledge, for example, and I'm sure that kids of wealthier, educated parents will have been exposed to a lot of concepts with which other kids are unfamiliar.

Actually, this post is incorrect. The WPPSI does not contain "general knowledge" questions at all.

hmmm... I'm looking at my dc's WPPSI report and under the verbal subtests, there is one called information, which states "the child is asked questions designed to demonstrate acquired knowledge from school and his or her environment." I would call that general knowledge questions.

That section refers to the child's ability to verbally reason; it is not general knowledge in the sense of asking questions that a more privileged child would know and a less-privileged child wouldn't (it is not akin to the infamous question from the 1970s SAT where the word "regatta" was used in the vocab section, for example). To give just one example, there is a question in that section where the child is asked, "why do people wait in lines?" Now, I suppose that if one is going to argue that a less-privileged child has never waited in a line or had a parent or teacher explain why people wait in lines, then one could possibly stretch the argument that the WPPSI is easier for more privileged kids, but I think that would be a real stretch.

No, but here is a good example of how culture can influence -- what if you are a non american english speaker and think of waiting in line as being in a queue (god, I can't even spell that ....)

It is my understanding (please correct me if I'm wrong, those of you who know for sure) that the WPPSI is in fact normed for American children. , so in the above example, you're right; if a British child thought of "waiting in line" as "queuing up," then they might be at a disadvantage, but I do not believe they are the target audience.

[Anonymous]

A few basic facts:

The norming group (where the percentiles are established) is controlled and done under strict conditions - no nudging allowed. This is a different group from the group the test is used from. So, of the norming group, it is absolutely, positively true that 1% scored at the 99th percentile. No guarantees for the group now being assessed.

The way the test is scored, the raw score (# correct) is translated into an age-based standard score, which can translate into a percentile. A generous scorer (whatever their motivation) might err on the positive on a few borderline answers, which might cumulatively nudge the child up a percentile or two.

The Information subtest does ask factual questions about general knowledge, so coming from a home with books/educational tv/lots of conversation can help on that particular subtest. No reasoning involved on this one (although really bright kids can sometimes reason their way to a correct answer). Most of the other tests are less dependent on background knowledge, but it can play a part. This is one reason the WPPSI is a less good predictor of future scores than, say, a WISC at age 8 - by then the kids are reading and in school, picking up knowledge independent of their parents (it's also why some parents who really enriched their young children are crushed when, four years later, the kid's scores are lower - relative to their peers, the edge given by enrichment has worn off some). A kid who grew up abroad/has foreign born parents/is from a nonEnglish speaking home will be at some magnitude of disadvantage, but if the child is fluent in English the disadvantage is likely small.