Help interpreting test results please

[Truscifi]

Ds5 took the WPPSI a few weeks ago and we just got his scores yesterday. I have been going through them and trying to interpret them, but I need a little help. I know he ceilinged on at least one subtest, because he answered every question right, but could he have ceilinged on any of the others?

Also, he scored a lot lower on one subtest than the rest. Does this indicate a problem area? The tester was the school psychologist, not a specialist in gifted testing, especially at his age. She didn't seem to think the lower score was anything to worry about.

So, here are his scores. Any thoughts are welcome.

Verbal:
Information - Raw 34, Scaled 19, Age Equiv >7.2, 99.9% (this is the one he answered every question right on)
Vocabulary - Raw 31, Scaled 14, Age Equiv >7.2, 91%
Word Reasoning - Raw 24, Scaled 15, Age Equiv >7.2, 95%
Composite 137

Performance:
Block Design - Raw 32, Scaled 15, Age Equiv >7.2, 95%
Matrix Reasoning - Raw 22, Scaled 15, Age Equiv >7.2, 95%
Picture Concepts - Raw 16, Scaled 11, Age Equiv 6.2, 63%
Composite 123

Processing Speed:
Symbol Search - Raw 29, Scaled 14, Age Equiv 7.2, 91%
Coding - Raw 48, Scaled 14, Age Equiv >7.2, 91%
Composite 122

Sum of scaled scores: 103
Full composite: 133

[psychgal]

Congrats. Great scores. She's right, the one outlier isn't something to worry about. IQ scores at this age don't have the predictive strength (stability) that scores at older ages do. This one score may be an a result of his getting distracted, tired, or lack of interest rather than a relative weakness in the specific ability measured by this subtest. I say "-relative- weakness" because it still is a strength compared to norms of others the same age. So even if this particular area actually -is- a relative weakness that remains so as he ages, I doubt that it will hold him back in any way. If his Verbal and Performance IQs showed a significant difference, that would be more meaningful, but there isn't one.

[Truscifi]

Thanks for the response! :)

If the test results are not stable at this age, do you think it would be beneficial to retest when he is 7-8 yo? Would that give me more info? I was really hoping for more in the report about how he learns and the best ways to teach him, so I can make sure I'm giving him the best learning environment. Do I need to try a different type of test for that info?

:bigear:

[EKS]

I'm curious as to why you had him take the WPPSI now and you didn't wait a year for the WISC. The reason I ask is that norms for the WPPSI only go up to age 7 or so and as you can see from the scores, he hit the ceiling on most of the subtests (the ones that say >7.2 indicate a ceiling). While they seem to have a percentile associated with them (that changes), I wouldn't be surprised if he did not meet the stopping criteria for most of the subtests.

You may want to ask this question on the Davidson forums. There are some folks on there who have experience with testing and will be able to tell you about ceilings and so forth.

If you're interested in a more accurate score, I would wait two years and then have the WISC done along with the WJ-III (an individual achievement test).

[zaichiki]

Our dd did the WPPSI three years ago and got similar scores. The psychologist was sure to mention (in person and in her report) that these scores were only minimal estimates and her actual abilities may be higher. I guess this is because many of the subtests hit ceilings...

And I've been told that kids' scores, when they hit ceilings, are really not too useful. Well, it *does* give you a minimal estimate and a definition of giftedness (if you need that for school or program placements). So, I guess it's useful for *something.* The test results were useful for us because they allowed us to see dd's dyslexia symptoms (comparing IQ/potential ability and achievement).

There are statistics somewhere (Davidson's website or is it Hoagies? I can't remember.) of a bunch of kids who hit ceilings on subtests and a comparison of what happened when they were retested on a test with higher ceilings. Although all of those kids tested in the 130s or so on the initial test, on the second test with the higher ceilings, some hit PG numbers, others HG, and some MG. These number spans are indicative of huge differences in learning speed and styles.

I have to see if I can find a link to this info...

[cdgni]

I found the test to be very interesting. DD has done them 3 times for a variety of reasons. WPSII at 4.5, Wisc at 6 years and 1 day and the the WISC again - I don't remember if it was WISC-IV or not.

Anyhow, the test were done with 3 different testers. She outperformed her test at age 4.5 hitting the ceilings many times. It also showed her (processing speed) delay-- I can't remember what it was called.. the one that showed she was slow to copy things.

From the first test to the last one, the IQ results were within 5 points of each other. I found this to be very interesting as it was 3 different test and testers. It shows how accurate these results really are.

I'm glad we did the test as I became more aware of why she was slow at writing things down and came to realize it was okay. We needed to build on finger exercises, writing speed and the permission to make mistakes. Time and maturity have helped resolve this problem/

[Truscifi]

We went ahead and tested on the recommendation of a teacher who works with ds in the AR program through the ps. She thought he would benefit from ps gifted program one day a week. Having now met the teacher, I tend to agree and he will be starting it next week. :auto: (He wanted me to put the car in as he thinks it is very funny and cute.)

Our county is very flexible about allowing homeschool students to particpate in any aspects of ps that would benefit them without having to enroll or have any extra strings attached.

I did put the question up on the Davidson boards as well, and it was suggested there that he should retest in 2 years and take the WISC, and possibly an achievement test, to give more accurate results and info. At this point I think we will do that, but we will have to pay for private testing because the school system won't test again once they meet the gifted criteria. I just want more info to help me teach him and understand him better. Sometimes I think I underestimate him, but other times I am afraid I am overestimating him and putting too much on him.