Use of the WISC-IV with the Gifted and Talented

Abstract

The goal of this paper is to provide practical information for teachers and other instructional staff working with youngsters who have been administered the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children — Fourth Edition (WISC-IV) (Harcourt Assessment, 2003) or WISC-IV Integrated (Harcourt Assessment, 2004) as part of the identification process. The WISC-IV Integrated contains all of the subtests of the WISC-IV, but adds 16 additional subtests that address information processing and allow clinicians to evaluate various hypotheses regarding student functioning. In most situations, it is likely that students evaluated for gifted and talented programs will only be administered the core and supplemental subtests, and not the additional process components included in the WISC-IV Integrated, as these subtests are most often administered to assist examiners in evaluating information processing capabilities to rule-in or rule-out various hypotheses concerning low scores on the test, and to develop interventions to address individual learning needs. Although gifted and talented students often require individualized learning experiences, further investigation of cognitive information processing strengths and weaknesses is not always pursued via these types of measures. Consequently, the primary focus of this chapter will be on the core and supplemental subtests of the WISC-IV, rather than the process subtests associated with the Integrated. The chapter is organized into the following elements: a) a basic description of the WISC-IV structure; b) WISC-IV and the Gifted population; and c) using WISC-IV data and other observations to develop interventions for students.