Overview
The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children –Fifth Edition (WISC-V; Wechsler, 2014) is an individually-administered, norm-referenced instrument that provides a measure of general intellectual functioning. This includes both aFull Scale Intelligence Quotient (FSIQ) and five Index scores (Verbal Comprehension, Visual Spatial, Fluid Reasoning, Working Memory, and Processing Speed). It can be used to assess individuals between the ages of 6 years and 16 years, 11 months. Its framework is based on theory and is supported by clinical research and factor-analytic results. The WISC-V is statistically linked to the WIAT-III and the KTEA-3. Instructions are briefer and shorter; discontinue rules are new features to decrease testing time from the WISC-IV. Compared with its predecessor, the WISC-IV, this revision features new subtests, simplified instructions, separate visual spatial and fluid reasoning composite scores, and an updated normative sample.
Summary
Age: 6 years 0 months to 16 years 11 months
Time to Administer: 60 minutes for core subtests
Method of Administration: Individually administered, norm-referenced measure of cognitive abilities
Yields / standard scores (M = 100, SD = 15), scaled scores (M = 10, SD = 3), percentile ranks, confidence intervals
Subscales: Overall Composite Score: Full Scale IQ (FSIQ)
Primary Index Scores: Verbal Comprehension Index, Visual Spatial Index, Fluid Reasoning Index, Working Memory Index, Processing Speed Index
Ancillary Index Scores: Quantitative Reasoning Index, Auditory Working Memory Index, Nonverbal Index, General Ability Index, Cognitive Proficiency Index, Expanded Index Scores
Complementary Index Scores: Naming Speed Index, Symbol Translation Index, Storage And Retrieval Index
Autism Related Research
None found. Though no autism-related research regarding utility or other aspects of using the WISC-V for assessing persons with autism is yet available, Baum, Shear, Howe, and Bishop (2015) studied convergent validity between the Stanford-Binet-Fifth Edition (SB-5) and the WISC-IV. They found that FSIQ scores and verbal index scores from the tests differed in this group, even though in the norming sample studies (i.e., no ASD) correlations between SB-5 and WISC-IV scores were high. These authors concluded that comparing IQ tests scores for persons with ASD (and other special groups) are important, as it cannot be assumed that convergent validity findings in typically developing children and adolescents hold true across all pediatric populations.