Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children Fourth Edition

The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children Fourth Edition (WISC-IV) is an individually
administered clinical instrument for assessing the cognitive sills of children age ! years "
months through #! years ## months$ It is com%rised of #& su'tests( each measuring various
facets of intelligence$ Ten su'tests are routinely administered to calculate the four inde) scores
and the Full Scale I*$
The theoretical foundation of the WISC-IV is derived from Wechsler+s original Ver'al-,onver'al
theory of intelligence (#-.-)$ The WISC-IV reflects an increased attention to the im%ortance of
/oring memory and %rocessing s%eed in the im%ortance of cognitive functioning$ 0 com%lete
administration of the WISC-IV yields standard scores in the follo/ing com%osite areas1
Ver'al Com%rehension Inde)
2erce%tual 3easoning Inde)
Woring 4emory Inde)
2rocessing S%eed Inde)
Full Scale I*
Follo/ing are descri%tions of each of the ten core WISC-IV su'tests1
WISC-IV Verbal Comprehension Subtests
Similarities measures ver'al reasoning and conce%t formation$ It also involves auditory
com%rehension( memory( distinction 'et/een nonessential and essential features( and ver'al
e)%ression$ This test re5uires the child to identify the similarity 'et/een t/o ostensi'ly
dissimilar items (/ords %resented orally to the child)
Vocabulary measures the child+s /ord no/ledge and ver'al conce%t formation$ For the
%icture items( the child is re5uired to name the %ictures in the stimulus 'oo$ For the ver'al
items( the child is re5uired to give definitions for /ords the e)aminer reads aloud$
Comprehension measures the child+s ver'al reasoning and conce%tuali6ation( ver'al
com%rehension( and ver'al e)%ression$ This test re5uires the child to ans/er 5uestions 'ased
on his or her understanding of general %rinci%les and social situations$
WISC IV Perceptual Reasoning Subtests
loc! "esign measures the child+s a'ility to analy6e and synthesi6e a'stract visual stimuli$
This test re5uires the child to vie/ a constructed model or a %icture in the stimulus 'oo( and
use red-and-/hite 'locs to re-create the design /ithin a s%ecified time limit$
Picture Concepts measures a'stract( categorical reasoning a'ility$ The child is %resented /ith
t/o or three ro/s of %ictures and chooses one %icture from each ro/ to form a grou% /ith a
common characteristic$
#atri$ Reasoning measures fluid intelligence and %rovides a relia'le estimate of general
nonver'al intelligence$ This test re5uires the child to vie/ an incom%lete matri) and select the
missing %ortion from & res%onse o%tions$
#
WISC IV Wor!ing #emory Subtests
"igit Span measures auditory short-term memory( se5uencing sills( attention( and
concentration$ The 7igit S%an For/ard tas re5uires the child to re%eat num'ers in the same
order as read aloud 'y the e)aminer$ 7igit S%an 8ac/ard re5uires the child to re%eat the
num'ers in the reverse order of that %resented 'y the e)aminer$
%etter-&umber Se'uencing measures se5uencing( mental mani%ulation( attention( short-term
auditory memory( visual-s%atial imaging( and %rocessing s%eed$ It re5uires the child to read a
se5uence of letters and num'ers and recall the num'ers in ascending order and the letters in
al%ha'etical order$
WISC IV Processing Speed Subtests
Coding measures the child+s short-term memory( learning a'ility( visual %erce%tion( visual-motor
coordination( visual scanning a'ility( cognitive fle)i'ility( attention( and motivation$ It re5uires
the child to co%y sym'ols that are %aired /ith sim%le geometric sha%es or num'ers$
Symbol Search measures %rocessing s%eed( short-term visual memory( visual-motor
coordination( cognitive fle)i'ility( visual discrimination( and concentration$ This test re5uires the
child to scan a search grou% and indicate /hether the target sym'ol(s) matches any of the
sym'ols in the search grou% /ithin a s%ecified time limit$
Wechsler( 7$ (9"".)$ Manual for the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children Fourth Edition.
San 0ntonio1 The 2sychological Cor%oration$
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