Need help interpreting test results

[Kimberly in IN]

My youngest dd was tested at local public school, at my request, for speech evaluation. The school apparently could not just conduct eval for speech therapy w/out a full range of testing.

 

She did qualify for speech therapy, which we wanted. :001_smile:

 

We also found out that she has a low IQ, which we were not surprised to learn.

 

But, we now have test results but no real way to correctly interpret them and use the info, as in curriculum choices, best teaching/learning styles, etc. And/or what exactly does she need extra support in.

 

Where, how do I go about finding info about the meaning of Standard Scores of the WISH IV. I don't even have subtest scores, percentiles, just Standard Scores. I have no idea of what is low, high, etc.

 

BTW, the tests she was given include WISC IV, KTEA II, Expressive Vocabulary Test 2, CELF-4 and Goldman Fristoe 2; plus the Stuttering Severity Instrument -4.

 

One last question, would the fact that English is her second language have any impact on any of the tests. The testers were not interested in that info, so I assume not, but just double checking. (hive is such a wealth of info) She was adopted at almost 3 from China and was tested at 6.5, if that has any bearing. And, yes she was quite verbal when we met her but we (& I mean dh and other dc, not me) have only a rudimentary Mandarin base so she lost a lot of that & takes Mandarin classes now, just like any other US child.

 

Thanks a lot for any guidance, direction, other related threads, etc.

 

Oh, yes, I did ask the school district for additional break down of scores, but so far, they have refused to share them w/us. Thus, I am asking the all knowing hive.

[Princess Peach]

My youngest dd was tested at local public school, at my request, for speech evaluation. The school apparently could not just conduct eval for speech therapy w/out a full range of testing.

 

She did qualify for speech therapy, which we wanted. :001_smile:

 

We also found out that she has a low IQ, which we were not surprised to learn.

 

But, we now have test results but no real way to correctly interpret them and use the info, as in curriculum choices, best teaching/learning styles, etc. And/or what exactly does she need extra support in.

 

Where, how do I go about finding info about the meaning of Standard Scores of the WISH IV. I don't even have subtest scores, percentiles, just Standard Scores. I have no idea of what is low, high, etc.

 

BTW, the tests she was given include WISC IV, KTEA II, Expressive Vocabulary Test 2, CELF-4 and Goldman Fristoe 2; plus the Stuttering Severity Instrument -4.

One last question, would the fact that English is her second language have any impact on any of the tests. The testers were not interested in that info, so I assume not, but just double checking. (hive is such a wealth of info) She was adopted at almost 3 from China and was tested at 6.5, if that has any bearing. And, yes she was quite verbal when we met her but we (& I mean dh and other dc, not me) have only a rudimentary Mandarin base so she lost a lot of that & takes Mandarin classes now, just like any other US child.

 

Thanks a lot for any guidance, direction, other related threads, etc.

 

Oh, yes, I did ask the school district for additional break down of scores, but so far, they have refused to share them w/us. Thus, I am asking the all knowing hive.

 

Responding to the bolded - Did you not have a meeting to discuss these results? Familiarize yourself with the state spec ed laws. Request the information in writing.

 

When my DS was evaluated, the evaluators explained in detail the results. They also gave me some great tips and sort of a "where do we go from here" discussion.

 

I hope you get some answers and that others can respond to the other issues in your post. You may want to do a x-post on the special needs board.

[Kimberly in IN]

Thanks for the reply. I should have said that my main concern at the mtg was obtaining speech therapy for dd's stuttering, which was arranged.

 

After that, the meeting was kind of odd, weird ...

 

The psychologist kept apologizing for having to tell me my dd had such a low IQ. I kept telling him, 1) it was not a surprise to me and 2) it is what it is. But, he kept apologizing, over and over....

 

The assistant superintendent made an offhanded comment that it was probably best that dd was homeschooled b/c there was no way she would be as far as long as she is in a special ed classroom. (During the testing, they assessed her current academic achievement and she is well within the normal range of children her age, in first grade. But with her IQ level, the school district would place her in a special ed classroom where those achievements would not be possible, as in, even taught.) Special Ed teacher said there was no way she could have reached those achievements, must have assessed her incorrectly, etc. Person who did assessments was insulted, etc.

 

Basically, assistant superintendent, chairperson of mtg, lost control of mtg. I kept trying to return focus to dd but finally decided it was not going to happen at that mtg. (special ed teacher apparently had to be at mtg even though dd is homeschooled, mandated, etc.)

 

Am now looking through rest of report and just wondered if there was any way I could figure out what the scores mean, other than dd did not perform well. And how to use the info for something useful. Apparently, cannot just talk to evaluator, must convene w/ entire committee. ugh!

 

I am not disagreeing with any of the test results. I am well aware she is slower than many children in some ways. I just wanted to use the test results to best help dd reach her potential.

[LNC]

I don't think the Wisc is the best choice to accurately measure iq for someone who is speech delayed, impaired or esl. It would score low, I would think, bc it is an involved speech response test. Jmo as a mom of special needs children. We used DAS for those reasons to get a more accurate label...

 

If your child is performing dramatically higher than her iq, you should feel complemented in your homeschooling- but also consider the IQ is probably not accurate. :001_smile:

[Tiramisu]

My youngest dd was tested at local public school, at my request, for speech evaluation. The school apparently could not just conduct eval for speech therapy w/out a full range of testing.

 

She did qualify for speech therapy, which we wanted. :001_smile:

 

We also found out that she has a low IQ, which we were not surprised to learn.

 

But, we now have test results but no real way to correctly interpret them and use the info, as in curriculum choices, best teaching/learning styles, etc. And/or what exactly does she need extra support in.

 

Where, how do I go about finding info about the meaning of Standard Scores of the WISH IV. I don't even have subtest scores, percentiles, just Standard Scores. I have no idea of what is low, high, etc.

 

BTW, the tests she was given include WISC IV, KTEA II, Expressive Vocabulary Test 2, CELF-4 and Goldman Fristoe 2; plus the Stuttering Severity Instrument -4.

 

One last question, would the fact that English is her second language have any impact on any of the tests. The testers were not interested in that info, so I assume not, but just double checking. (hive is such a wealth of info) She was adopted at almost 3 from China and was tested at 6.5, if that has any bearing. And, yes she was quite verbal when we met her but we (& I mean dh and other dc, not me) have only a rudimentary Mandarin base so she lost a lot of that & takes Mandarin classes now, just like any other US child.

 

Thanks a lot for any guidance, direction, other related threads, etc.

 

Oh, yes, I did ask the school district for additional break down of scores, but so far, they have refused to share them w/us. Thus, I am asking the all knowing hive.

 

Kimberly, You have posted on the general board, but I don't think you have posted this on the special needs board. People over there are very familiar with the questions you have, and I think someone could help you.

I've had a dd who has had the WISC IV, but I'm not such an expert as others. You could try to again to request a copy of the score breakdown, threatening to get a lawyer if they don't comply. That might be helpful to start with.:001_smile:

[catz]

I don't think the Wisc is the best choice to accurately measure iq for someone who is speech delayed, impaired or esl. It would score low, I would think, bc it is an involved speech response test. Jmo as a mom of special needs children. We used DAS for those reasons to get a more accurate label...

 

If your child is performing dramatically higher than her iq, you should feel complemented in your homeschooling- but also consider the IQ is probably not accurate. :001_smile:

 

:iagree: I wouldn't be at all surprised if you did the WISC again in 5-10 years and saw considerably different numbers. Especially if your tester is not experienced testing kids with your daughter's set of issues. And given this was just a PS tester, you might even see different scores if you hired a private psych that specialized in evaluating special needs kids. Test scores just represent one snap shot in time. Given that you got the scores via the PS, I wouldn't necessarily spend tons of time and energy evaluating them for info unless there seem to be really obvious info or trends from it.

 

The special needs board is a good suggestion! :001_smile:

[Lisa in Jax]

My youngest dd was tested at local public school, at my request, for speech evaluation. The school apparently could not just conduct eval for speech therapy w/out a full range of testing.

 

She did qualify for speech therapy, which we wanted. :001_smile:

 

We also found out that she has a low IQ, which we were not surprised to learn.

 

But, we now have test results but no real way to correctly interpret them and use the info, as in curriculum choices, best teaching/learning styles, etc. And/or what exactly does she need extra support in.

 

Where, how do I go about finding info about the meaning of Standard Scores of the WISH IV. I don't even have subtest scores, percentiles, just Standard Scores. I have no idea of what is low, high, etc.

 

BTW, the tests she was given include WISC IV, KTEA II, Expressive Vocabulary Test 2, CELF-4 and Goldman Fristoe 2; plus the Stuttering Severity Instrument -4.

 

One last question, would the fact that English is her second language have any impact on any of the tests. The testers were not interested in that info, so I assume not, but just double checking. (hive is such a wealth of info) She was adopted at almost 3 from China and was tested at 6.5, if that has any bearing. And, yes she was quite verbal when we met her but we (& I mean dh and other dc, not me) have only a rudimentary Mandarin base so she lost a lot of that & takes Mandarin classes now, just like any other US child.

 

Thanks a lot for any guidance, direction, other related threads, etc.

 

Oh, yes, I did ask the school district for additional break down of scores, but so far, they have refused to share them w/us. Thus, I am asking the all knowing hive.

 

I used to administer the WISC for a living. An average (mean) SS is 100. Here's a table that shows the conversion of SS to percentiles and several other statistical measures: http://www.medfriendly.com/standardscoretopercentileconversion.html

 

Please bear in mind that many of the WISC tests are language-dependent, so some scores may be affected more by speech/language than others.

 

Patterns of scores are as important as individual tests, so try not to interpret too much from individual subscores.

 

And yes -- IMO, being an adoptee whose first language was lost could affect her scores for several reasons, for example, she was essentially w/o a language while she learned English, and/or she may not have been terribly fluent in Mandarin in the first place, due to environmental deprivation.

 

If you'd like feedback about specific scores, please feel free to inbox me and I'll try to help.

 

HIH,

 

Lisa

mom of dd-18, bio and ds-13, India (adopted at age 4.5)

Edited June 12, 2012 by Lisa in Jax