My dd recently had the WISC IV three days after starting the antibiotic for bronchitis verging on pneumonia. She was stil coughing heavily while taking the test. The scores came out way lower than I would have expected based on a long history of superior performance on standardized tests, her general show of intelligence, and how her scores stacked up against her brother’s. She also did a McCarthy test a number of years ago that put her in the superior range. Now I’m questioning how valid the results are given her illness. I currently have the same thing she had, and a week after starting the antibiotic, I still don’t feel up to taking such a test. Of course, I am much older….
Continuing my usual bad experience with neuropsychs this one of virtually no help in figuring out the scores and the various discrepancies despite me intensely grilling her for two hours. I am beginning to think that between dd’s illness and the neuropsych’s phlegmatism, this testing has been a huge waste of money.
Re: How much could illness affect !Q test results?
Yes, illness can lower scores notably.
I did the GRE while coming down with pneumonia, in frezzing rain and an unheated room (thought it was bronchitis, told the doctor it was getting me down, and he said no wonder, its pneumonia.) My scores on the re-do were 5 to 10 percentile points higher.
I would have cancelled the testing date due to the illnss. Oh well, 20-20 hindsight.
Request a retest and go only when she is in good shape, physicaly and mentally .
Re: How much could illness affect !Q test results?
Don’t think you can do a retest that quickly — rather foils the test results when you’ve had practice, even if the practice was under adverse conditions. However, you do want something in the report that duly questions the validity of the results.
You can still sometimes get some useful information from the relative strengths and weaknesses (especially since when you’re sick, you’re probably less likely to be able to use a strong area of thinking to figure out a test that measures a relatively weak area, so weaknesses will be weaker and show up better).
Everythingwas probably a fair amount slower and more confused :(
Iq
Thanks for the responses—I really should have cancelled the appointment. DD scored lowest in working memory—almost 2 SDs below her verbal score. I have since done my own test of her digit span (one of two tests in the working memory section and the one where she scored the lowest) using Brainbuilder and found she could do 7 digits forward and 11 in reverse, so it looks to me like her illness definitely could have affected her results.
Re: How much could illness affect !Q test results?
As SAR already stated, our psychologist is also saying the IV scores lower than the III. That is a VERY important consideration for parents considering a re-eval at school for LD placement. It may backfire BIGtime to give the IV because the discrepancy may no longer be there. However, with the new IDEA, we may not have to use IQ at all. But I’d personally avoid the IV unless you do it privately like Marie did.
Janis
I would think serious illness would affect performance; but you should ask the evaluator about his/her experience with the WISC IV compared with the WISC III many say they can’t be compared as they are very different tests. I think the WISC IV scores lower than the WISC III.
The other thing to consider is that the tests get harder as kids get older; so scores as a 6 or 7 yo may not be accurate predictors of teenagers.