WISC-V IQ Test:
What's Different, What's the Same

In late 2014, the newest edition of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - the WISC-V - was released, introducing some significant changes to the way that intelligence is now measured. The Full Scale IQ score still exists, but how the WISC-V calculates the score changes.

The chart below shows you a side-by-side comparison of the WISC-IV and WISC-V test format.

With the WISC-IV, children were tested with 10 core subtests. The scores from those subtests were grouped into 4 separate Index Scores, which then computed the FSIQ.

The WISC-V shuffles up the subtests, getting rid of Word Reasoning and Picture Completion. New subtests, such as Visual Puzzles, Figure Weights, and Picture Span, have been added. The WISC-V continues to use 10 subtests in its basic administration - but not all those subtests are used to calculate a child's 'FSIQ.

The biggest change to the WISC-V comes with the reporting of 5 Index Scores, as well as Ancillary and Complementary Index Scores. The Verbal Comprehension, Working Memory, and Processsing Speed Indices remain in the WISC-V. The Perceptual Reasoning Index from the WISC-IV has been split into the Visual Spatial Index and the Fluid Reasoning Index.

Read More About the WISC-V

• WISC-V Subtests
  Discover the kinds of questions the WISC-V subtests ask.
• WISC-V Index Scores
  Understand what the 5 WISC-V Index scores tell you about your child's intelligence.
• WISC-V Ancillary Indes Scores
  Learn about the 5 Ancillary Index scores reported by the WISC-V and what they measure.

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