Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-mwx4w Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-28T23:14:00.449Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Usefulness of WISC-IV in Determining Intellectual Giftedness

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 August 2015

Clara Molinero ,
Sara Mata ,
Mª Dolores Calero ,
Mª Belén García-Martín  and
Arsenio Araque-Cuenca
Clara Molinero
Affiliation:
Universidad de Granada (Spain)
Sara Mata*
Affiliation:
Universidad de Granada (Spain)
Mª Dolores Calero
Affiliation:
Universidad de Granada (Spain)
Mª Belén García-Martín
Affiliation:
Universidad de Granada (Spain)
Arsenio Araque-Cuenca
Affiliation:
Equipo de Orientación Educativa de Jaén (Spain)
*
*Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Sara Mata. Departamento de Personalidad, Evaluación y Tratamiento Psicológico. Facultad de Psicología. Universidad de Granada. 18071. Granada (Spain). E-mail: saramata@ugr.es
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Several studies question the usefulness of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-IV) in determining giftedness due to the importance of speed in some of its subtests, which may penalize children of high intellectual level. This study analyzes the factor structure of the WISC-IV of gifted children based on confirmatory factor analysis. Participants were eighty-seven gifted children from Spain (6–13 years old). Score discrepancies were also examined for the main indexes: Verbal Comprehension, Processing Speed, Working Memory and Perceptual Organization. Results pointed out four models with a good fit from the five models analyzed: a two-factor model according to GAI subscales (RMSEA = .001, p = .84), a four-factor first-order model including main indexes (RMSEA = .05, p = .19), a four-factor model with g as a direct factor (RMSEA = .001, p = .84) and a four-factor model with g as an indirect higher-order factor (RMSEA = .05, p = .13). Discrepancies were found between Verbal Comprehension and Processing Speed, and between Perceptual Organization and Processing Speed. Verbal Comprehension yielded the highest score, whereas the lowest scores were obtained in Processing Speed and Working Memory. These results support the use of this scale in the assessment and diagnosis of Spanish children with a high intellectual level.

Keywords

factor analysisintelligencegifted childrencognitive profilesWISC-IV
Type
Research Article
Information
The Spanish Journal of Psychology , Volume 18 , 2015 , E60
Copyright
Copyright © Universidad Complutense de Madrid and Colegio Oficial de Psicólogos de Madrid 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abad, F. J., Colom, R., Juan-Espinosa, M., & García, L. F. (2003). Intelligence differentiation in adult samples. Intelligence, 31, 157–166. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0160-2896(02)00141-1 Google Scholar
Bodin, D., Pardini, D. A., Burns, T. G., & Stevens, A. B. (2009). Higher order factor structure of the WISC-IV in a clinical neuropsychological sample. Child Neuropsychology, 15, 417–424. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09297040802603661 Google Scholar
Brown, S. W., Hwang, M. T., Baron, M., & Yakimoski, M. E. (1991). Factor analysis of responses to the WISC-R for gifted children. Psychological Reports, 69, 99–107. http://dx.doi.org/10.2466/PR0.69.5.99-107 Google Scholar
Brown, S. W., & Yakimoski, M. E. (1987). Intelligence scores of gifted students on the WISC-R. Gifted Child Quarterly, 31, 130–134. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/001698628703100308 Google Scholar
Canivez, G. L. (2014). Construct validity of the WISC-IV with a referred sample: Direct versus indirect hierarchical structures. School Psychology Quarterly, 29(1), 38–51. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/spq0000032 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Facon, B. (2003a). L’organisation des aptitudes cognitives est-elle hie´rarchique? [Is the organization of cognitive abilities hierarchical?]. Revue Europe´enne de Psychologie Applique´e, 53, 189–198.Google Scholar
Facon, B. (2004). Are correlations between cognitive abilities highest in low-IQ groups during childhood? Intelligence, 32, 391–401. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.intell.2004.06.002 Google Scholar
Facon, B. (2006). Does age moderate the effect of IQ on the differentiation of cognitive abilities during childhood? Intelligence, 34, 375–386. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.intell.2005.12.003 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Flanagan, D. P., & Kaufman, A. S. (2004). Essentials of WISC-IV assessment. Hoboken, NJ:John Wiley & Sons.Google Scholar
Georgas, J., Weiss, L. G., van de Vijver, F. J. R., & Saklofske, D. H. (2003). Culture and children´s intelligence: Cross-cultural analysis of the WISC-III. New York, NY: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Greenberg, R. D., Steward, K. J., & Hansche, W. J. (1986). Factor analysis of the WISC-R for white and black children evaluated for gifted placement. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessmment, 4, 123–130. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/073428298600400204 Google Scholar
Hair, J. F., Anderson, R. E., Tatham, R. L., & Black, W. C. (1999). Análisis Multivariante [Multivariate data analysis]. Madrid, Spain: Prentice Hall.Google Scholar
Jensen, A. R. (2003). Regularities in Spearman’s law of diminishing returns. Intelligence, 31, 95–105. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0160-2896(01)00094-0 Google Scholar
Karnes, F. A., & Brown, K. E. (1980). Factor analysis of the WISC-R for the gifted. Journal of Educational Psychology, 72, 197–199. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.72.2.197 Google Scholar
Kaufman, A. S. (1992). Evaluation of the WISC–III and WPPSI–R for gifted children. Roeper Review, 14, 154–158. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02783199209553413 Google Scholar
Kaufman, A. S. (1993). King WISC the third assumes the throne. Journal of School Psychology, 31, 345–354. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0022-4405(93)90019-F Google Scholar
Keith, T. Z., Fine, J. G., Taub, G. E., Reynolds, M. R., & Kranzler, J. H. (2006). Higher order, multisample, confirmatory factor analysis of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for children, 4 th ed.: What does it measure? School Psychology Review, 35, 108–127.Google Scholar
Kush, J. C., Watkins, M. W., Ward, T. J., Ward, S. B., Canivez, G. L., & Worrell, F. C. (2001). Construct validity of the WISC-III for white and black students from the WISC-III standardization sample and for black students referred for psychological evaluation. School Psychology Review, 14, 389–433.Google Scholar
Macmann, G. M., Mueller-Plasket, C., Barnett, D. W., & Siler, R. F. (1991). Factor structure of the WISC-R for children of superior intelligence. Journal of School Psychology, 29, 19–36. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0022-4405(91)90012-G Google Scholar
Marsh, H. W., Hau, K. T., & Wen, Z. (2004). In search of golden rules: Comment on hypothesis-testing approaches to setting cutoff values for fit indexes and dangers in overgeneralizing Hu and Bentler’s (1999) findings. Structural Equation Modeling, 11, 320–341. http://dx.doi.org/10.1207/s15328007sem1103_2 Google Scholar
National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC). (2010). Use of the WISC-IV for gifted identification. Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved from http://nagc.org Google Scholar
Raiford, S. E., Weiss, L. G., Rolfhus, E., & Coalson, D. (2005). Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-fourth edition: General ability index. (Technical Report No. 4). San Antonio, TX: Pearson. Retrieved from https://www.pearsonassessments.com/ Google Scholar
Raven, J., Raven, J. C., & Court, J. H. (1998). Manual for Raven's Progressive Matrices and Vocabulary Scales. Section 2: The colored progressive matrices. San Antonio, TX: Harcourt Assessment.Google Scholar
Reynolds, M. R., Hajovsky, D. B., Niileksela, C. R., & Keith, T. Z. (2011). Spearman’s law of diminishing returns and the DAS-II; Do g effects on subtest scores depend on the level of g? School Psychology Quarterly, 26, 275–289. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0026190 Google Scholar
Rimm, S. (2006, November). Breaking the ceiling scores for profoundly gifted children using the WISC-IV. Paper presented at the 53rd annual convention of the National Association of Gifted Children. Charlotte, NC.Google Scholar
Rimm, S. (2010). The importance of the use of the WISC-IV General Ability Index (GAI) IQ score for identification of gifted students. OAGC Summer Research Journal, 1(1), 3–10.Google Scholar
Rimm, S., Gilman, B. J., & Silverman, L. K. (2008). Non-traditional applications of traditional testing. In VanTassel-Baska, J. (Ed.), Alternative assessments with gifted and talented students (pp. 175–202). Waco, TX: Prufrock Press.Google Scholar
Rowe, E. W., Dandridge, J., Pawlush, A., Thompson, D. F., & Ferrier, D. E. (2014). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses of the WISC-IV with gifted students. School Psychology Quarterly, 29, 536–552. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/spq0000009 Google Scholar
Saccuzzo, D. P., Johnson, N. E., & Russell, G. (1992). Verbal versus performance IQs for gifted African-American, Caucasian, Filipino, and Hispanic children. Psychological Assessment, 4, 239–244. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/1040-3590.4.2.239 Google Scholar
Sapp, G. L., Chissom, B., & Graham, E. (1985). Factor analysis of the WISC-R for gifted students: A replication and comparison. Psychological Reports, 57, 947–951. http://dx.doi.org/10.2466/pr0.1985.57.3.947 Google Scholar
Sattler, J. M. (2001). Assessment of children: Cognitive applications (4 th ed.). San Diego, CA: Author.Google Scholar
Silverman, L. K. (1995). Highly gifted children. In Genshaft, J., Bireley, M. & Hollinger, C. L. (Eds.), Serving gifted and talented students: A resource for school personnel (pp. 217–240). Austin, TX: Pro-Ed.Google Scholar
Silverman, L. K. (2009). The measurement of giftedness. In Shavinina, L. V. (Ed.), International Handbook on Giftedness (pp. 947–970). Québec, Canada: Springer.Google Scholar
Sparrow, S. S., Pfeiffer, S. I., & Newman, T. M. (2005). Assessment of children who are gifted with the WISC-IV. In Prifitera, A., Saklofske, D. H., & Weiss, L. G. (Eds.), WISC-IV clinical use and interpretation: Scientist-practitioner perspectives (pp. 281–298). Waltham, MA: Academic Press. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-012564931-5/50009-8 Google Scholar
Spearman, C. (1927). The abilities of man. London, UK: Macmillan.Google Scholar
Sweetland, J. D., Reina, J. M., & Tatti, A. F. (2006). WISC-III verbal/performance discrepancies among a sample of gifted children. Gifted Child Quarterly, 50(1), 7–10.Google Scholar
Volker, M. A., & Smerbeck, A. M. (2009). Identification of gifted students with the WISC-IV. In Flanagan, D. P. & Kaufman, A. S. (Eds.), Essentials of WISC-IV assessment 2nd ed. (pp. 262–276). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.Google Scholar
Wasserman, J. D. (2006). Tips for parents: Intellectual assessment for exceptionally and profoundly gifted children. Reno, NV: Davidson Institute for Talent Development. Retrieved from http://www.davidsongifted.org/db/Articles_id_10405.aspx Google Scholar
Watkins, M. W. (2010). Structure of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for children, 4 th ed. among a national sample of referred students. Psychological Assessment, 22, 782–787. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0020043 Google Scholar
Watkins, M. W., Greenawalt, C. G., & Marcell, C. M. (2002). Factor structure of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-3 th ed. among gifted students. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 62, 164–172. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0013164402062001011 Google Scholar
Watkins, M. W., Wilson, S. M., Kotz, K. M., Carbone, M. C., & Babula, T. (2006). Factor structure of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for children, 4 th ed. among referred students. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 66, 975–983. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0013164406288168 Google Scholar
Wechsler, D. (1974). Manual for the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised. New York, NY: Psychological Corporation.Google Scholar
Wechsler, D. (1991). Manual for the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, 3th ed. San Antonio, TX: Psychological Corporation.Google Scholar
Wechsler, D. (2003b). Wechsler Intelligence Scale for children, 4th ed. (WISC-IV) technical and interpretive manual. San Antonio, TX: The Psychological Corporation.Google Scholar
Wechsler, D. (2005). Escala de Inteligencia de Wechsler para niños-IV [Wechsler’s Intelligence Scale for Children-IV] (WISC-IV). Madrid, Spain: TEA.Google Scholar
Weiss, L. G., Saklofske, D. H., Prifitera, A., & Holdnack, J. A. (2006). WISC-IV advanced clinical interpretation. Burlington, MA: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Willson, V. L., Gilberg, J. A., & Reynolds, C. R. (1982, April). Factor structure of the WISC-R for gifted children: A failure replicate. Paper presented at the meeting of the Southwest Psychological Association. Dallas, TX.Google Scholar