Anonymous wrote:OP again. We don't live in DC. Each of the schools here in Dallas require waitlisted kids to repeat the entire process each year. No exceptions. That's the mantra that was repeated by both schools regarding the WPPSI retest.
After reading the statistics on reliability, the more I thought about this, the more I think this is just a moneymaking gimmick. Either the test is predictive of the future, or they wouldnt use it. If it is, then why retest?
If a child already achieved a top score with no red flags, then forcing parents to retest, 365 days later, seems to me, a situation not unlike an MD forcing unnecessary tests on patients which have been scientifically and statistically to provide no useful information.
Am I getting something wrong? Either the test is stable and consistent under these circumstances, or these monopolistic testing groups (in some cities you're forced to use an examiner from a specific group) are just enriching themselves.
I think it's the norming. Say your child was 4 years and 6 months when he first took the test last year; the psychologist used the norms for that age group. This year he would be 5 years, 6 months, and the psychologist would use the norms for that age. The WPPSI covers a wide range of ages and a child's performance must be compared to the norms for his specific age group.