WISC-IV Subtests Research Articles

Review of WISC-IV advanced clinical interpretation.

LAWRENCE G. WEISS, DONALD H. SAKLOFSKE, AURELIO PRIFITERA, and JAMES A. HOLDNACK (Eds.) WISC-IV Advanced Clinical Interpretation Burlington, MA: Elsevier Academic Press, 2006, 448 pages (ISBN 0-12-088763-0, C$49.95 Hardcover) Reviewed by REBECCA PILLAI RIDDELL Since the release of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition 2003 (WISC-IV), a host of accompanying texts have been written with the intent to help clinicians navigate their way through the latest rendition of this gold standard g-factor test. However, what sets this book apart is that it was written by authors heavily involved the development of the WISC-IV and its associated norms. Wechsler himself stated, regarding the first author, in so many ways this is his instrument (Wechsler, 2003, p. iii). With that type of endorsement, perhaps it is appropriate that the authors' express their lofty intention that this book, conjunction with their earlier tome (WISC-IV Clinical Use and Interpretation, Scientist-Practitioner Perspectives), become the standard reference for all individuals using the WISC-IV. Accordingly, the book aims to provide both graduate students and experienced psychologists with a more nuanced understanding of index and subtest score interpretation. The first two chapters present basic contextual material for subsequent chapters. Chapter 1 presents interesting background data on African-American and Hispanic-American populations (with a little attention paid to the Asian demographic) terms of physical health status, parental education, income, intellectual stimulation, parental beliefs, and academic preparations provided the home. The goal of providing this information was to emphasize the need to contextualize a child's WISC-IV performance. The second chapter spends considerable time rehashing information (e.g., how to set up your kit, establishing rapport, what are percentile ranks, testing children who are deaf and hard of hearing), sometimes verbatim, from the WISC-IV manuals. However, new this chapter is the introduction of their modified strategy to basic profile analysis - a strategy that diverges from Wechsler's manuals. They recommend that analyses be based on the four Index scores and that the Full-Scale IQ (FSIQ) score is included only the summary of the report (rather than the traditional approach to present it first the actual body of a report or to state that due to discrepancies the FSIQ is invalid). The next two chapters discuss options for interpreting index scores. Chapter 3 is dedicated almost entirely to explanations and interpretative considerations associated with the General Ability Index (i.e., the alternative to the FSIQ using only the Verbal Comprehension and Perceptual Reasoning subtests). The next chapter reviews the four Index scores and their composite subtests and, context of their discussion on diagnosing Learning Disabilities, the Cognitive Proficiency Index (i.e., the index comprising of the subtests the Working Memory and Processing speed indices). The last set of interpretative chapters relate mainly to the WISC-IV Integrated - a newer version of WISC-IV that includes process subtests to better decipher subtest performance. Chapter 5 introduces the basic structure and content of the WISC-IV Integrated, whereas the sixth chapter begins with a description of specific cognitive competencies subsuming the cognitive skills of attention, executive functioning, auditory processing and language skills, visual and visual-perceptual processing, memory and learning, and sensory and motor processing. The rest of Chapter 6 is dedicated to offering interpretative guidance for using the core and supplemental WISC-IV subtests with the WISC-IV Integrated's process subtests. Looking beyond WISC-IV Integrated scores, Chapter 7 examines clinical group performances on subtests and explores relationships between the WISC-IV Integrated and measures of specific cognitive skills (e. …

Distinctions Without a Difference

This study employed observed factor index scores as well as latent ability constructs from the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children—Fourth Edition (WISC-IV; Wechsler, 2003) in estimating reading and mathematics achievement on the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test—Second Edition (WIAT-II; Wechsler, 2002). Participants were the nationally stratified linking sample ( N = 498) of the WISC-IV and WIAT-II. Observed scores from the WISC-IV were analyzed using hierarchical multiple regression analysis. Although the factor index scores provided a statistically significant increment over the Full Scale IQ, the size of the improvement was too small to be of clinical utility. Observed WISC-IV subtest scores were also subjected to structural equation modeling (SEM) analyses. Subtest scores from the WISC-IV were fit to a general factor ( g) and four ability constructs corresponding to factor indexes from the WISC-IV (Verbal Comprehension, Perceptual Reasoning, Working Memory, and Processing Speed). For both reading and mathematics, only g (.55 and .77, respectively) and Verbal Comprehension (.37 and .17, respectively) were significant influences. Thus, when using observed scores to predict reading and mathematics achievement, it may only be necessary to consider the Full Scale IQ. In contrast, both g and Verbal Comprehension may be required for explanatory research.

The cylindrical structure of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children — IV: A retest of the Guttman model of intelligence

A previous study on the underlying structure of the Wechsler intelligence test (WISC-R; [Wechsler, D. (1974). Manual WISC-R: Wechsler intelligence scale for children—Revised. New York: Psychological Corporation]), using smallest space analysis (SSA) [Guttman, L., and Levy, S. (1991). Two structural laws for intelligence tests. Intelligence, 15, 79–103] had indicated a three-dimensional cylindrical solution. The first described level of abstract thinking (rule inferring, rule applying, rule following or new learning tasks), the second related to mode of representation (verbal, numeral, visual), while the third dimension related to output mode (oral, manual, or pencil and paper). In view of the appearance of the recent version of this test (WISC-IV; [Wechsler, D. (2003). Manual for the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children—Fourth edition. San Antonio, TX: The Psychological Corporation]), the purpose of the present study is to test Guttman's model of intelligence on the current version of the scale. Thus, the intercorrelation matrix of the WISC-IV subtests of the entire normative sample of 2200 children was submitted to SSA. This solution replicates Guttman and Levy three-dimensional cylindrical structure almost completely, and it offers further differentiation of the visual mode into geometric and pictorial modes and implies that the Block Design subscale relates to the “rule inferring” category. The Guttman model organization of the present solution provides an elegant description of the structure of intelligence and suggests the construction of new subscales for measuring different aspects of intelligence.