Presentation Of Wechsler Intelligence Scale For

Children-IV(WISC-IV)

Submitted by,
ASIMA MUNAWAR- 401344.
SADAF MUZAMMIL- 401121
SADIA NAWAZ- 401330
SABA SAFDAR 401221
SHEHLA MAJEED- 401220

Submitted to,
Dr. SHAISTA JABEEN
Wechsler
intelligence
scale for
children-iv
(wisc-iv)
 INTRODUCTION

Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-

IV(WISC-IV) is an individually administered,
comprehensive clinical instrument for assessing
the intelligence of children aged 6 years 0 months
-16 years 11 months.
WISC-IV provides composite scores that represent
intellectual functioning in specified cognitive
domains.
 HISTORY & DEVELOPMENT OF
WISC -IV

Evolution of WISC began with the original Wechsler-Bellevue.(1939).

Wechsler based his test on the premise that intelligence is a global entity as well as
it is specific.
Intelligence is a global entity because it characterizes individuals behavior as a
whole & it is specific because it is composed of elements/abilities that are distinct
from each other.
Wechsler selected and developed the subtests that highlighted the cognitive
aspects of intelligence, he thought were important to measure: Verbal
Comprehension, Abstract Reasoning, Perceptual Organization, Quantitative
Reasoning, Memory & Processing Speed.
 PREDECESSORS
OF WISC-IV
Wechsler-Bellevue
Intelligence Test (1939).
Subtests: Information,
Arithmetic, Similarities,
vocabulary, Digit Span,
Comprehension, Picture
Completion, Pic.
Arrangement, Block Design,
Object Assembly & Coding
WISC-III (1991) retained all the subtests from
WISC-R and introduced new subtest, Symbol
Search, as a measure of processing speed. 4 new
index scores were introduced which were Verbal
Comprehensive Index(VCI), Freedom from
Distractibility Index, Perceptual Organization
Index & Processing Speed Index
Original WISC(1949). Subtests:
12 subtests. 11 were adapted
from Wechsler-Bellevue
Intelligence Test and 1 new test
which was The Mazes was esp.
developed for WISC. These
subtests provided scores for
Verbal IQ, Performance IQ and
Full Scale IQ..
WISC-R (1974).
Subtests: All 12 subtests
from original WISC
were retained but age
range was shifted from
5-15years to 6-16years.
 Structure of WISC-IV

WISC-IV provides a measure of general intellectual

functioning i.e. Full Scale IQ (FSIQ) & Four Index
Scores.
The dual IQ & Index Score Structure implemented in the

WISC-III is no longer utilized

 Index
Terminology

Verbal Comprehensive
Index(VCI). It is
composed of subtests
that measures verbal
ability utilizing
reasoning,
comprehension &
Perceptual conceptualization
Working memory
reasoning
Index(PRI) is
Full Index (WMI) is
composed of Scale composed of
subtests that
subtests that
measures perceptual IQ measures attention,
concentration &
reasoning and
organization
(FSIQ)
Processing Speed working memory.
Index(PSI) is
composed of subtests
that measures the
speed of mental and
graphomotor
processing
 TYPES OF
SUBTESTS

Supplemental
Core Supplemental
Core subtests
subtests are
are subtests
subtests are
are those
those
those tests that tests
tests that extend the
those tests that that extend
are the
are administered
administered range of cognitive
range of cognitive
SUBTESTS
SUBTESTS
when
when composite
composite skills & provides
skills & provides
scores
scores are
are desired
desired additional
additional clinical
clinical
information
information
 CORE SUBTESTS SUPPLEMENTAL
SUBTESTS

Block Design (BD)

Similarities (SI)
Digit Span (Ds)
Picture Concepts (PCn) Picture Completion (PCm)
Coding (CD) Cancellation (CA)
Vocabulary (VC) Information (IN)
Letter-Number Sequencing Arithmetic (AR)
(LN) Word Reasoning (WR)
Matrix Reasoning (MR)
Comprehension (CO)
Symbol Search (SS)
 ADMINISTRATION

Administration and scoring manual

Technical and interpretive manual
Record form
MATERIALS Stimulus book
NEEDED Response booklet 1 and 2
Block design blocks
Scoring key for Coding
Scoring key for Symbol Search
Cancellation scoring template
 ADMINISTRATION

Suggestions for Examiner

Before starting the session, materials should be arranged in a way
that they are easily accessible to the examiner but out of the childs
view.
Test kit should be kept out the child's line of vision to focus the
child's attention on the task at hand.
If stopwatch has to be used it should be used much quietly.
Physical environment should be best for administering the test.
The room should be illuminated & all extraneous variables should be
controlled.
The child should be seated comfortably and it should be tried that the
child is seated facing away from windows.
 ADMINISTRATION

Start Point:
There are different start points for each subtests and
these are age specific and are marked in record form.
Reverse Rule:
Certain subtests with age-based starting points,
examinee must establish a basal or perfect score on the
first two items administered to receive full credit for all
previous items & if the child does not achieve full credit
for age-based starting points then previous/reversal
items are administered in reverse sequence until perfect
scores are achieved for two consecutive items.
 ADMINISTRATION

DISCONTINUE RULE
Discontinue rule is also a characteristic of WISC-IV.
According to this rule the test is discontinued after
certain number of consecutive zero-point scores or after
certain period of time.
Discontinue rule is different for each subtest.
SCORING
Scoring points are also different for each subtest.
QUALIFYING ITEMS
Qualifying items are also present for some subtests.
These qualifying items actually are the Pre-requisites
for performing particular subtest.
 APPLICATIONS OF WISC-
IV

WISC-IV is a psychoeducational tool.

It can be used to obtain a comprehensive assessment of general
cognitive functioning.
It can also be used as part of an assessment to identify intellectual
giftedness, learning difficulties and cognitive strengths and
weaknesses.
Results of the test can serve as a guide for treatment planning &
placement decisions in clinical and educational settings.
The results of the test could also provide invaluable clinical
information for neuropsychological functioning and research
purposes.
 SUBTESTS DESCRIPTION & RATIONALE

VERBAL
PROCESSING SPEED
COMPREHENSION
SUBTESTS
SUBTESTS

i. Similarities
ii. Vocabulary
i. Coding
iii. Comprehension
ii. Symbol Search
iv. Information
iii. Cancellation
v. Word reasoning
 SUBTESTS DESCRIPTION & RATIONALE

SIMILARITIES
-It is a core subtest.
-The child is presented two words that represent common objects/concepts &
child is asked to describe how are they similar.
-This test involves auditory comprehension, memory, distinction between
essential & non-essential features and verbal expression.
-This subtest has 23 items. It has different age-based start points. For age 6-8
start point is item no 1, for age 9-11 start point is item no. 3 and for age 12-16
start point is item no.5.
-Discontinue rule is applied after 5 consecutive scores of 0.
-Scores are 0, 1 point for item 1-2 and 0, 1 or 2 points for item 3-23.
-EXAMPLE: . Milk Water. Space-Time.
Frown Smile.
Space Time
 SUBTESTS DESCRIPTION & RATIONALE

VOCABULARY

It is a core verbal comprehension subtest.

Vocabulary is designed to measure a childs word knowledge and verbal concept
formation. It also measures childs learning ability, long-term memory & degree of
language development.
For picture items, the child names pictures that are displayed in stimulus book. For
verbal items, the child gives definition for word that examiner reads aloud.
When presenting verbal items the children aged 9-16 years are also shown the
words in the stimulus book.
Vocabulary has 36 items including 4 picture items &32 verbal items.
It also has different age-based start points, for age 6-8 start point is item no. 5, for
age 9-11 start point is item no 7 and for age 12-16 start point is item no. 9.
Discontinue rule is applied after 5 consecutive scores of 0.
Scores are 0,1 for items 1-4 and 0,1 and 2 points for items 5-36
For Example; (picture) Train; (verbal) Umbrella, Absorb, Aberration
 SUBTESTS DESCRIPTION
AND RATIONALE

It is a core verbal comprehension subtest.

COMPREHENSIONIts items require the child to answer questions based on his/her understanding of
general principals & social situations.
It is designed to measure verbal reasoning, conceptualization, verbal comprehension
and expression. The ability to evaluate and use past experience and the ability to use
past experience is also measured through this test.
This subtest has 21 items and it also has different age-based start points; for age 6-8
starting point is item no 1, for age 9-11 starting point is item no 3 and for age 12-16
start point is item no 5. Discontinue rule is applied after 4 consecutive scores of 0.
Scores are 0,1 or 2 points for all items. For Ex. Why do people brush their teeth?
 SUBTESTS DESCRIPTION
& RATIONALE

It is a supplemental verbal comprehension subtest.

For each items, the child answers questions that address a broad range of
general knowledge topics.
INFORMATION It is designed to measure a childs ability to acquire, retain & retrieve
general factual knowledge. It involve crystallized intelligence and long
term memory.
It has 33 items.
It also has different age-based starting points. For age 6-8 start point is item
no 5, for age 9-11 start point is item no. 10 and for age 12-16 start point is
item no. 12.
Discontinue rule is applied after 5 consecutive 0 scores.
Scores are 0 or 1 point for all items.
For example; How many legs does a dog have?
What comes after March?
Who was Confucius?
Where does turpentine come from?
 SUBTESTS
DESCRIPTION &
RATIONALE

It is a supplemental verbal comprehensive subtest.

The child is asked to identify the common concepts being described in a
series of clues.
It is related to tasks measuring verbal reasoning such as word context.
It consists of 24 items. It also has Sample Items for ages 6-16.
WORD
Age-based start points are also present; for age 6-9 start point is item no.
REASONING 1 and for ages 10-16 start point is item no. 5.
Discontinue rule is applied after 5 consecutive scores of 0.
Scores are 0 or 1 point for all items.
For example; 1:This is used to dry yourself after a bath.
2 (I)These are protected by skin and bones
(II) And can sometimes be replaced.
 SUBTESTS DESCRIPTION &
RATIONALE

CODING
It is core processing speed subtest.
It measures short-term memory, visual-motor coordination,
visual scanning ability, cognitive flexibility, attention and
motivation.
In this subtest, child copies symbols that are paired with
specific geometric shapes or numbers. Using a key, child
draws each symbol in its corresponding shape/ box within a
specified time limit.
This subtest has two different forms: Form A Is for age 6-7
years and Form B Is for age 8-16 years.
Discontinue rule is applied after 120 seconds.
Scores are 0 or 1 point. 1 point is given for each correct
response.
 SUBTESTS
DESCRIPTION &
RATIONALE

It is a core processing speed subtest.

In this subtest, child scans a searched group and indicates whether
the target symbol matches any of the symbols in search group.
It involves short-term memory, visual-motor coordination , cognitive
SYMBOL flexibility and visual discrimination.
It also has age-based start points; for ages 6-7 Symbol search
SEARCH
A sample items and for age 8-16 symbol search B items are used.
Discontinue rule is applied after 120 seconds.
Scoring is done by subtracting the incorrect number of responses
from correct number of responses.
For Ex.
zx bvpfk YES NO
 SUBTESTS DESCRIPTION
& RATIONALE

It is a supplemental processing speed test.

It measures processing speed. Visual selective attention, vigilance &
visual neglect.
Child scans both a random and structured arrangement of pictures
and marks target picture within a specified time limit.
It has only one start point for all ages i.e. Item no 1 for age 6-16.
Discontinue rule is applied after 45 seconds for each item.
Scoring is done by subtracting incorrect number from correct number
of responses. CANCELLATION
For Ex. 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.
Thankyou