Mismatched WPPSI-III Scores with Ability
By Inderbir Kaur Sandhu, Ph.D
Q:
I have a six year old son who has presented with many
qualities of giftedness from a very early age.
Walked/talked/read earlier than the vast majority of his age
peers. He is highly intense, spirited, emotional, curious
... and a whole host of other gifted qualities which present
on a 'grand' scale. In his first year of school last year,
we asked his teacher if she could send home readers as he
complained of being bored. She mentioned he didn't present
with any of the gifts we spoke of and, as a result of the
disparity, he was tested by the school Guidance Officer. The
WPPSI-III test was conducted when he was 5.2 years old. I
was actually surprised by the results as he is and always
has been substantially beyond his peers academically and is
very different. He was ranked in the 91st percentile for
Verbal, Performance and Full though his processing speed
stood at 37%. I'm not surprised by this as the amount of
information on the page would have served as hyper-stimulus.
In a nutshell - he's reading age is 9, his comprehension,
humor and numeracy skills are even more advanced, he has a
photographic memory and he's very physically adept. Not to
mention the fact that he's obsessed by religion and politics
and the beginning of the universe and humankind. I/we truly
believe he's gifted ... not off the scale, but gifted
nonetheless.
Now in grade 1, his teacher is reticent to extend him too
much as she's concerned it will 'encroach' on his next year
of learning. Without the piece of paper to prove he's gifted
we're stuck. Was this the correct test to give him? Is it
possible that a number of variables affected the last test?
Would it be worth retesting and is the WISC-IV more accurate
in determining giftedness?
If you got this far ... thanks so much for taking the time
to read it. We're pulling our hair out as no one seems to
understand that we're not conceited - we're just trying to
advocate for our very bright and currently very bored son.
A: From your description, he
certainly demonstrates qualities of a gifted child. The good
thing here is that you believe you son is gifted and as
parents, you are the best judge of his abilities. However,
school are quite stringent in the criteria for a special
program. It is indeed true that many gifted children may
not make it into the school's gifted program due to scores
that do not meet the cut-off requirement. But, this should
not be always viewed negatively since some of these
programs are designed more for those who are highly
motivated and the high achievers rather than the gifted. So
if a child is gifted but not achieving, s/he may not get
admission into such programs. Some of these programs may
not even offer much stimulation for the gifted since there
is a lot more work, but not more challenging all the time.
At his age when he took the test, the WPPSI-III was indeed a
suitable test to gauge his abilities. A retest may yield a
slightly different score but really not that different if
all other factors are conducive for testing. A different
test may also reveal different scores since different tests
focus on different skills and even the scores may not be
equivalent. And especially for children, there are many
factors that may influence their test scores, e.g., anxiety
level, health, mood, etc. But if the child retests or takes
a different test, the highest score should be regarded as
the child’s score. Bear in mind that on a good day, one may
not get very high scores, but on a bad day the effect is
more prominent for low scores.
If you feel that the school has a good program that would
be beneficial, and the only way is to show certified
numbers, it may be worth trying the WISC-IV. In fact, if he
has a learning disability that is masking his gifts at
school, the test may be able to determine that as well.
However, you would need a good tester to test him and
interpret the results in detail. For the WISC, look at both
the Full Scale IQ scores and the General Ability Index as
well. If there is a substantial discrepancy in the subtest
scores, you may be able to determine if there is a concern
that needs attention. And of course, early intervention
would be the best if there is a concern. Do read older
issues in this newsletter for more tips on how to nurture a
gifted child at home. If the school has limited resources
for your son, you would need to put in a lot of effort at
home in ensuring that he needs are being met. At the same
time, have a close relationship with his school to help the
teachers understand your concerns and for you to understand
his behavior at school. Best wishes to you!
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