Assessment: Individually administered tests of intellectual functioning

K-ABC-II

For a sample writeup using the KABC-II, click here

SB-5

Stanford Binet Intelligence Scales - 5

Ages 2 to 90+ (May not be as good for younger children)

  • Wide variety of items requiring nonverbal performance by examinee--ideal for assessing individuals with limited English, deafness, or communication disorders
  • Comprehensive measurement of five factors--Fluid Reasoning, Knowledge, Quantitative Reasoning, Visual-Spatial Processing, and Working Memory--providing a more complete assessment of individual intelligence
  • Ability to compare verbal and nonverbal performance--useful in evaluating learning disabilities
  • Greater diagnostic and clinical relevance of tasks, such as verbal and nonverbal assessment of working memory
  • Includes Full Scale IQ, Verbal and Nonverbal IQ, and Composite Indices spanning 5 dimensions with a standard score mean of 100, SD 15
  • Includes subtest scores with a mean of 10, SD 3
  • Extensive high-end items, many adapted from previous Stanford-Binet editions and designed to measure the highest level of gifted performance
  • Improved low-end items for better measurement of young children, low functioning older children, or adults with Mental Retardation
  • Enhanced memory tasks provide a comprehensive assessment for adults and the elderly
  • Co-normed with measures of visual-motor perception and test-taking behavior
  • Scorable by hand or with computer software
  • Enhanced artwork and manipulatives that are both colorful and child-friendly

All test subjects take an initial vocabulary test, which along with the subject's age, determines the number and level of subtests to be administered. Total testing time is 45-90 minutes, depending on the subject's age and the number of subtests given. Raw scores are based on the number of items answered, and are converted into a standard age score corresponding to age group, similar to an IQ measure.

WISC-IV

Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - IV

The WISC-IV has an increased ceiling over the previous version of the test; the test offers additional harder questions at the upper ends of a number of subtests. The WISC-IV has eliminated the Verbal IQ and Performance IQ scores of its predecessors. The 10 required subtests (5 are supplementary) yield a Full Scale IQ score and four Composite scores: Verbal Comprehension, Perceptual Reasoning, Working Memory, and Processing Speed.

Note that gifted children who scored 130 on the WISC-III are scoring an average of 124 or the WISC-IV

The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - Fourth Edition (WISC-IV) ads several new subtests while other subtests have been eliminated. Instead of a verbal and a performance scale, the WISC-IV has four indices made up of ten core and five supplemental subtests. The indices are:

- Verbal comprehension
- Perceptual reasoning
- Working memory
- Processing speed.

Scores from each index, based on the 10 core subtests only, are combined to create a child's total score, or Full Scale IQ (FSIQ). Dropped from the WISC-IV are these three subtests from earlier editions:

- Mazes
- Object assembly
- Picture arrangement

In their place are working memory and processing speed subtests that researchers discovered are more accurate and better measures of intelligence.

New subtests added to the WISC-IV include:

  • Word reasoning, in which a child receives multiple verbal clues and must then determine what those clues mean. For example, the child might identify a mop based on verbal clues that describe its form and function.
  • Matrix reasoning, which measures a child's non-verbal reasoning ability. In this exercise, a child sees a partially filled grid and then selects the item that completes the grid. For example, the child might see two sets of shapes, such as stars and pentagons, with one set arranged in a certain color sequence. The child then must determine the correct color sequence of the second set of shapes to complete the grid.
  • Picture concepts, a measure of a child's ability to categorize. The child sees multiple rows of objects and selects those objects that are similar based on an underlying concept. For example, the similar items might be trees or animals.
  • Letter-numbering sequence, which measures working memory. In this exercise, a child hears a mixed combination of letters and numbers. The child first repeats the numbers in numerical order and then the letters in alphabetical order.
  • Cancellation, which tests a child's processing speed. In this exercise, a page is covered with pictures of animals and other common objects, either randomly scattered on the page or arranged in rows and columns. The child then marks through - or cancels - the animals as quickly as possibly.

Old: A WISC-III score is derived from the scaled combination of two sets of subtests, verbal and performance. Each set has its own total, derived from the scaled combination of six subtest scores.

School districts typically used a discrepancy between the verbal and performance sections as an indicator of a learning disability, although they might not provide special services unless there are additional indicators. The discrepancy formula is not best practice.

CTONI (Comprehensive Test of Nonverbal Intelligence)

The CTONI measures nonverbal reasoning abilities of children and adults for whom other tests are biased or inappropriate. No oral responses, reading, writing, or object manipulation are required to take the test. CTONI is useful for testing individuals with difficulties in language or fine motor skills, including those who are motor disabled, or neurologically impaired. The six subtests of the CTONI require students to view a group of pictures or designs and to solve problems involving analogies, categorizations, and sequences. The viewer simply indicates an answer by pointing to alternative choices.

For an example ETR using the CTONI for a low functioning student, click here,

Filed under: Praxis II Studies
Copyright: May, 2005 - David Profitt