Practicing for the WISC®-5 Test or WISC-V Test

posted by Karen Quinn, The Testing Mom - February 3rd, 2015

The WISC-V Test, or the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children®, is the latest version of the WISC test, taking the place of the older WISC-IV test. The update is big news for this IQ test administered to children ranging in age from 6:0 to 16:11.

The latest version of the test has dropped the Word Reasoning and Picture Completion subtests.

On average, it takes a child between 40 and 70 minutes to complete the test; this depends largely on how many subtests they will be taking. The psychologists who administer the WISC-V test don’t give every subtest every time. Which subtests will be given depends largely on why the test is being administered (i.e., to qualify a student for a gifted program vs. to assess a child for possible learning disabilities), and what school district or school is in charge of administering the test. If you aren’t sure which subtests your child will take, the best bet is to speak to someone at their school and find out as much information as you can.

Parts of the test, including block design, use physical manipulatives and so are always given offline. Other parts of the test may be given online.
Below is a list of all the abilities measured by the WISC-V and the corresponding subtests for each ability. Again, your child may not encounter all of these subtests, so be sure to check with a school official before formulating your practice strategy:

• Verbal Comprehension: Vocabulary, Comprehension, Information, Similarities
• Visual Spatial Reasoning: Visual Puzzles, Block Design
• Fluid Reasoning: Figure Weights, Matrix Reasoning, Arithmetic, Picture Concepts
• Working Memory: Letter-Number Sequences, Digit Span
• Processing Speed: Symbol Search, Coding, Cancellation
• Learning and Memory: Rapid Naming, Symbol Translation. (Note: these subtests are not used to determine a child’s IQ score. They may, however, be used to evaluate a child for potential developmental delays.)

Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children® — Fourth and Fifth Editions (WISC®-IV and WISC®-V) are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Pearson Education, Inc or its affiliate(s), or their licensors. TestingMom.com is not affiliated with nor related to Pearson Education, Inc or its affiliates (“Pearson”). Pearson does not sponsor or endorse any TestingMom.com product, nor have TestingMom.com products or services been reviewed, certified, or approved by Pearson. Trademarks referring to specific test providers are used by TestingMom.com for nominative purposes only and such trademarks are solely the property of their respective owners.