Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children

Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC IV), developed by David Wechsler, is an intelligence test for children from age 6 to 16 that can be completed without reading or writing.  WISC-IV was introduced in 2003 and is less biased against minorities and females than previous versions. The WISC is one of a family of Wechsler intelligence scales. Subjects over 15 are tested with the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS), and children ages three to seven years, three months are tested with the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI).

The test has ten core subtests and five supplemental ones to use in special circumstances.  The subtests generate a Full Scale IQ score (FSIQ,) and four composite scores known as indices: Verbal Comprehension (VCI,) Perceptual Reasoning (PRI,) Processing Speed (PSI) and Working Memory (WMI.)  The subtests include:

• Vocabulary - questions over the meaning of words.
• Similarities - how two concepts are alike.
• Comprehension - questions about social situations or common concepts.
• Information (supplemental) - general knowledge questions.
• Word Reasoning (supplemental) - children are presented with one to three riddle-style clues and asked to determine what the tester is describing.
• Block Design - children put together red-and-white blocks in a pattern according to a displayed model. This is timed, and some of the more difficult puzzles award bonuses for speed.
• Picture Concepts - children are shown rows of pictures, and are asked to find a common bond with one picture in each row.
• Matrix Reasoning - children are shown an array of pictures with one missing square, and select the picture that fits the array from five options.
• Picture Completion (supplemental) - children are shown artwork of common objects with a missing part, and asked to identify the missing part by pointing and/or naming.
• Digit Span - children are orally given sequences of numbers and asked to repeat them, either as heard or in reverse order.
• Letter-Number Sequencing - children are orally given sequences of letters and numbers together, and asked to repeat them in both numerical order and alphabetical order.
• Coding - children under 8 mark rows of shapes with different lines according to a code, children over 8 transcribe a digit-symbol code. Time-limited with bonuses for speed.
• Symbol Search - children are given rows of symbols and target symbols, and asked to mark whether or not the target symbols appear in each row.
• Cancellation (supplemental) - children are to mark lines through objects that do not belong in a page of randomly-arranged objects and one of orthogonally-arranged objects.

Many psychologists use WISC to compare a child's cognitive development to his or her actual school or social performance. Using this discrepancy and other sources of data, the WISC can contribute information concerning a child's psychological well-being.