Confidential Psychological Report for: John Doe
Page 1
TEST RESULTS AND INTERPRETATION (see attached appendix for scores)
General Intellectual Ability
Date Completed: 09/28/2003
Assessments Used:
1. Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children: Fourth Edition (WISC-IV)
John’s general intellectual ability was evaluated using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for
Children: Fourth Edition (WISC-IV). The WISC-IV is a norm-referenced, individually
administered test of intelligence. It provides a measure of general intelligence as well as more
specific measures of verbal comprehension, perceptual reasoning, working memory, and
processing speed.
John’s WISC-IV Full Scale IQ (FSIQ) could not be interpreted because he demonstrated too
much variability among the four Indexes that comprise this score, the Verbal Comprehension,
Perceptual Reasoning, Working Memory, and Processing Speed Indexes. However, because
John’s Verbal Comprehension Index (VCI) and Perceptual Reasoning Index (PRI) were similar,
these two scores can be combined to calculate a General Ability Index (GAI). The GAI is an
estimate of general intellectual ability that is based on John’s performance on tasks that
comprise the Verbal Comprehension Index (VCI) and Perceptual Reasoning Index (PRI) and is
not influenced by his performance on the tasks that measure working memory and processing
speed. John earned a GAI score of 81, which falls in the Low Average range and at the 11th
percentile. This indicates that John performed as well as or better than 11 percent of individuals
his age in the WISC-IV standardization sample. There is a 95 percent probability that John’s
true GAI score falls between 75 and 87.
The Verbal Comprehension Index (VCI), a measure of Crystallized Intelligence, represents
John’s ability to reason with previously learned information acquired from formal and informal
educational opportunities and exposure to mainstream culture. The VCI is comprised of tasks
that required John to define words (Vocabulary), draw conceptual similarities between words
(Similarities), and answer questions involving knowledge of general principles and social
situations (Comprehension). The difference between John’s performance on these three tasks
was not unusually large, indicating that his VCI is a good estimate of Crystallized Intelligence.
He earned a VCI score of 81 (10th percentile; 95% confidence range = 75-89), which falls in the
Low Average range. John’s VCI score represented a personal weakness within his WISC-IV
profile and is considered a normative weakness for his chronological age.
The Perceptual Reasoning Index (PRI) is a measure of Fluid Reasoning and represents John’s
ability to reason using visual stimuli. The PRI is comprised of tasks that required John to
recreate a series of modeled or pictured designs using blocks (Block Design), identify the
missing portion of an incomplete visual matrix from one of five response options (Matrix
Reasoning) and select one picture from each of two or three rows of pictures to form a group
with a common characteristic (Picture Concepts). The variability of John’s performance on
these three tasks was unusually large, suggesting that Fluid Reasoning cannot be adequately
described by a single score (i.e., the PRI). His performance on two of these tasks (Block
Design and Matrix Reasoning) fell within normal limits for his chronological age. His
performance on Picture Concepts represented a normative weakness and was below average
for his chronological age.
Confidential Psychological Report for: John Doe
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The Working Memory Index (WRI) is a measure of Short-Term Memory and represents John’s
ability to encode information, hold it in immediate awareness, and manipulate it mentally. The
WRI is comprised of tasks that require John to repeat numbers in reverse order as presented by
the examiner (Digit Span) and listen to a sequence of numbers and letters and repeat the
numbers in ascending order, followed by the letters in alphabetical order (Letter-Number
Sequencing). The variability in John’s performance on these tasks was not unusual, indicating
that the Working Memory Index (WMI) represents a valid estimate of his short-term memory.
John earned a WMI score of 83 (13th percentile; 95% confidence range = 77-92), which fell in
the Low Average range and represented a normative weakness for his chronological age.
The Processing Speed Index (PSI) is a measure of Processing Speed and represents John’s
ability to perform simple, clerical-type tasks quickly. The PSI is comprised of tasks that required
John to copy symbols that were paired with numbers according to a key (Coding) and a task
that required him to identify the presence or absence of a target symbol in a row of symbols
(Symbol Search). The difference between John’s performance on these two tasks was not
unusually large, indicating that the PSI is a valid estimate of processing speed. John earned a
PSI score of 109 (73rd percentile; 95% confidence range = 99-117), which fell in the Average
range. Processing Speed represented a personal strength within his WISC-IV profile and was
within normal limits for his chronological age.
Confidential Psychological Report for: John Doe
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APPENDIX A: TEST SCORES
WECHSLER INTELLIGENCE SCALE FOR CHILDREN: FOURTH EDITION
(WISC-IV)
Composite & Factor Index Scores
Standard
Percentile
95% Confidence
Score
Rank
Interval
Full Scale IQ (FSIQ)
84
14
80-89
Verbal Comprehension Index (VCI)
81
10
75-89
Perceptual Reasoning Index (PRI)
84
14
78-93
Working Memory Index (WMI)
83
13
77-92
Processing Speed Index (PSI)
109
73
99-117
VCI Subtests
Similarities
Vocabulary
Comprehension
Scaled Score
9
5
6
PRI Subtests
Block Design
Picture Concepts
Matrix Reasoning
Scaled Score
7
5
10
WMI Subtests
Digit Span
Letter-Number Seq.
Scaled Score
9
5
PSI Subtests
Coding
Symbol Search
Scaled Score
12
11