Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children® — Fourth Edition (WISC®-IV)

Understanding of learning disabilities and attentional disorders has greatly expanded since the publication of the WISC–III. WISC–IV makes important advances from WISC–III in order to provide the most effective clinical tool representing cutting edge research and thinking. This timely revision is the result of over a decade of research and success with the WISC–III. WISC–IV empowers you to use your experience, skills and judgment to relate test results to referral questions.

The WISC®–IV provides more than IQ scores. It provides essential information and critical clinical insights into a child’s cognitive functioning.

This fourth generation of the most widely used children’s intellectual ability assessment meets your testing needs for the twenty-first century. While maintaining the integrity of the Wechsler® tradition, the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children®—Fourth Edition (WISC–IV®) builds on contemporary approaches in cognitive psychology and intellectual assessment, giving you a new, powerful and efficient tool to help develop and support your clinical judgments.

Revision Overview

• Improved assessment of Fluid Reasoning, Working Memory, and Processing Speed
• Enhanced clinical validity
• Decreased emphasis on time with fewer time bonuses
• Improved reliabilities and validities
• Improved floors and ceilings on all subtests
• Updated norms to match current 2000 U.S. census data
• Replacement of outdated items
• Includes a chapter on interpretation
• Mazes, Object Assembly, and Picture Arrangement have been dropped
• Information,Word Reasoning, Picture Completion, Arithmetic, and Cancellation are supplemental subtests
• Culturally fair
• Reduced weight and increased portability

Benefits of WISC–IV

The WISC–IV is designed to meet several goals:

• Expand and strengthen clinical utility to support your decision making
• Develop the four Index Scores as the primary interpretive structure
• Improve the assessment of fluid reasoning, working memory, and processing speed
• Improve subtest reliabilities, floors and ceilings from WISC–III
• Link to the WIAT–II and to measures of memory (Children’s Memory Scale, CMS), adaptive behavior (Adaptive Behavior Assessment System, ABAS), emotional intelligence (Bar-On EQ), and giftedness (Gifted Rating Scale, GRS)

The Wechsler Tradition: Reliability And Clinical Validity

Careful sampling ensures that norms are representative of the current population of children in the United States. The WISC®–IV sample consisted of 2,200 children between the ages of 6:00 and 16:11 years. A total of 200 children were selected for each of the 11 age groups. The sample was stratified on age, sex, parent education level, region, and race/ethnicity.

Validity Studies

Data was collected with an extensive range of validity measures and with children from sixteen special groups.

Equivalency studies were also conducted within the Wechsler family of tests enabling you to make meaningful comparisons between variousWechsler scores over the lifespan.The Technical Manual reports results of internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and correlational data.

WISC®–IV is also validated with measures of achievement, memory, adaptive behavior, emotional intelligence, and giftedness.

• Wechsler Individual Achievement Test®—Second Edition (WIAT®–II)– linked to WISC®–IV for abilityachievement comparison
• Children’s Memory Scale™ (CMS™)
• Adaptive Behavior Assessment System—Second Edition (ABAS®–II)
• Bar-On Emotional Quotient- Inventory® (Bar-On EQ-i®)
• Gifted Rating Scales (GRS)

Subtest Changes
Three WISC–III subtests have been eliminated from WISC–IV: Object Assembly, Mazes and Picture Arrangement. WISC–III subtests that are now supplemental include Picture Completion, Arithmetic, and Information.

New Subtests
Several new subtests are added to reflect current clinical knowledge and practice:

• Word Reasoning—measures reasoning with verbal material; child identifies underlying concept given successive clues.
• Matrix Reasoning—measures fluid reasoning a (highly reliable subtest on WAIS® –III and WPPSI™–III); child is presented with a partially filled grid and asked to select the item that properly completes the matrix.

• Picture Concepts—measures fluid reasoning, perceptual organization, and categorization (requires categorical reasoning without a verbal response); from each of two or three rows of objects, child selects objects that go together based on an underlying concept.

• Letter-Number Sequencing—measures working memory (adapted from WAIS–III); child is presented a mixed series of numbers and letters and repeats them numbers first (in numerical order), then letters (in alphabetical order).
• Cancellation—measures processing speed using random and structured animal target forms (foils are common non-animal objects).

In addition, new optional recall procedures have been added to the Coding subtest, including free recall, cued digit recall, and cued symbol recall; a coding copy procedure is also included to allow examination of graphomotor abilities apart from paired-associate learning.

Improvements To Retained Subtests

• Vocabulary
• Block Design
• Arithmetic
• Improved Materials

Vocabulary

• Picture naming items in the Stimulus Book provide a lower floor
• Vocabulary words are now displayed in Stimulus Book, in addition to being read aloud

Block Design

• Reduced time bonus
• Timed and untimed norms are now provided

Arithmetic

• Reduced requirement for math knowledge on the Arithmetic subtest
• No time bonus
• No text items
• Picture counting retained for subtest floor

Four Composite Scores

In order to make interpretation more clinical meaningful, the dual IQ and Index structure from WISC–III has been replaced with a single system of four composite scores (consistent with the Four Index Scores in WISC–III) and the Full Scale IQ. This new system helps you better understand a child’s needs in relation to contemporary theory and research in cognitive information processing.

The WISC®–IV provides four index scores:

• Verbal Comprehension
• Perceptual Reasoning
• Working Memory
• Processing Speed

WISC-IV Software
Save time scoring and reporting results with the practical WISC--IV Scoring Assistant and Report Writer software. Generate concise score reports and comprehensive interpretative reports automatically from your PC by simply entering raw scores. The WISC--IV Scoring Assistant and Report Writer are part of the PsychCorpCenter platform, which allows you access to other scoring applications for potential cross battery analysis (including the WIAT II Scoring Assistant and Report Writer for ability/achievement discrepancy analysis).

WISC-IV Scoring Assistant
Just enter raw scores, and the software does the following:

• Generates concise score reports and statistical reports with graphs and tables.
• Raw to scaled score conversions
• Strength and weakness discrepancies
• Uses the PsychCorpCenter Platform as its foundation to integrate with other scoring applications and produce cross battery analysis of scores.
• Links to WIAT II (with your purchased of the WIAT-II Scoring Assistant)
• Upgradeable to WISC IV Report Writer

WISC-IV Report Writer
Includes all capabilities of the Scoring Assistant plus:

• Produces individualized, comprehensive reports that go beyond mere scores, tables, and graphs.
  • Non-Technical Client Report
  • Comprehensive Narrative Report with narrative interpretations included.
  • Clinical and Background Review
• Interprets statistically significant discrepancies between scores.
• Uses the PsychCorpCenter Platform as its foundation to integrate with other report writer applications and produce cross battery analysis of scores.
• Links to WIAT II
• Includes comprehensive user manual.

WISC-IV Scoring Assistant with WIAT-III Sample Report (PDF - 498 KB)

WISC-IV Scoring Assistant with WIAT-II Sample Report (PDF - 565 KB)

WISC-IV with WIAT-II Sample Report (PDF - 565 KB)

WISC-IV with WIAT-II Writer Interpretive Parent Sample Report--English (PDF - 89 KB)

WISC-IV with WIAT-II Writer Interpretive Parent Sample Report--Spanish (PDF - 91 KB)

WISC-IV with WIAT-II Writer Interpretive Sample Report (PDF - 163 KB)

WISC-IV Writer Sample Report (PDF - 524 KB)

Introduction to the General Ability Index (GAI) Utility (PDF - 66KB)

Click here to download the WISC-IV General Ability Index Utility

WISC-IV Technical Report #1: Theoretical Model and Test Blueprint (PDF - 222 KB)

WISC-IV Technical Report #2: Psychometric Properties (PDF - 186 KB)

WISC-IV Technical Report #3: Clinical Validity (PDF - 107 KB)

WISC-IV Technical Report #4: GAI (PDF - 234 KB)

WISC-IV Technical Report #4.1: GAI with Canadian Norms (PDF - 240 KB)

WISC-IV Technical Report #5: WISC-IV and Children’s Memory Scale (PDF - 120 KB)

WISC-IV Technical Report #6: Using the Cognitive Proficiency Index in Psychoeducational Assessment (PDF - 108 KB)

WISC-IV Technical Report #7: Extended Norms (PDF - 241 KB)

WIAT-III Technical Report #1 – Conducting Ability-Achievement Discrepancy Analyses Using WISC-IV GAI and WIAT-III (PDF - 480 KB)

WISC-IV Bibliography (PDF - 93 KB)

Defining the Role of Intellectual and Cognitive Assessment in Special Education (PDF - 238 KB)

Wechsler General Ability Index, GAI, Symposium (APA 2009) (PDF - 502 KB)

Click here to download the WISC-IV Frequently Asked Questions (PDF - 119KB)