WISC scores

No, it’s not as simple as adding them up… 122 sounds about right. (I’m not sure exactly how the score is extracted.) Do you have a Verbal and Performance score?

You’re absolutely right, this is a smart kiddo with a lot of strengths. I’m guessing from the scores that this fellow does best with the “big picture” rather than a bunch of fragmented facts, and maybe has problems with writing, but does better on the computer? Starting with the ‘big picture’ and filling in the details can make a big difference wiht that kind of learner; the same kid can be very frustrated with a linear, here-are-the-parts, approach. This means if he’s got a big ol’ science test with lots of terms, to group ones that are related and understand the relationships (and especially know the word parts and what they mean — once you know “thermo” is heat, thermocouple and thermonuclear and exotherm all make more sense) instead of learning ‘em one at a time.

You certainly nailed his learning style, and yes, he does have trouble with writing. His Verbal Score is 122 and Performance Score is 117.

I”d definitely start honing in on those strengths then. Basically the more complicated the test, the better he did except for coding — which is “complicated” because it involves speed, motor skills, and lots of arbitrary symbols that you’re supposed to figure out and move around quickly. That very high Arithmetic score says he doesn’t have *any* trouble quickly manipulating numbers in his head and processing what he hears, so I figured the writing and newness of the symbols were factors. LIkewise, the relatively weak “information” score (only relative, it’s in the average range — but so many other scores are well above that) is from a test of factual information (and if a kid hasn’t been doing too well in school for a few years this one drops off too). But he’s right up there in the seriously above average range (my term, not psychobabble ;)) in both vocabulary — what words mean — and Similarities — a more sophisticated kind of knowledge of how words relate to each other. And those strong Picture Completion & Picture ARrangement (stronger than Block Design which is more abstract and arbitrary) scores say “big picture kid” to me (though sometimes the numbers paint a different picture than the kid who walks into my classroom — in which case I toss the numbers and watch the kid ;)).

In general, the more “hard thinking” required, the better this kid is going to do. I don’t know what his skills are like, but he may be at the point where just applying the skills he *does* have will be more instructional than isolated remediation of a skill in a way that doesn’t transfer to some kind of content. I could also imagine him tuning out completely and getting even less than he could out of it… better that he be working on some challenging project where he can shine — andhave somebody work with him on the writing and spelling. If the language skills are really impaired then accommodations would be in order — find ways of getting stuff in and out that aren’t so dependent on the weakest areas — and I’d be less inclined to abandon remediation, though his attitude would have a lot to do with it… how old is he?

Thanks so much for all the info. He is 11 years old, going into the 6th grade. This battery of tests was administered 1-18-00. Since then, he has done PACE and made huge jumps in reading and writing, although writing and spelling are his weakest points. His auditory processing and short term memory have improved greatly. He does check out, usually in the form of saying, “I’m too tired for that.”

OK — that’s what I figured. This really is the time to impress on teachers, admins that he NEEDS CHALLENGE… you don’t want him routed into a track that won’t keep him thinking. He’ll *still* struggle because of his weaknesses and come to believe he is stupid — and his strengths will never be called upon, or if he does think in public nobody will understand him because that’s not what happens in those classes.