What do the tests we give students mean? How can you compare scores across different measures? What do we need to know about intelligence, ability, and achievement testing? Find answers here!

1. ©2003-2013 Carolyn
Kottmeyer
Testing and Assessment
of Gifted Children
Apples and grapefruit?

2. New Jersey Association for
Gifted Children (NJAGC)
This workshop is brought to you by the New Jersey
Association for Gifted Children, An Affiliate Group of
NJEA
Visit us on the Convention Floor in the Affiliates Section
of Main Street…
 Latest state requirements for gifted education
 Membership information… Enter a drawing for a free
membership
 Professional development opportunities in gifted education
 NJAGC conference in March 2014
 Awards
 Discover what NJAGC can do for you.
 www.njagc.org Phone: 856-273-7530
©2003-2013 Carolyn
Kottmeyer

3. ©2003-2013 Carolyn
Kottmeyer
Hoagies’ Gifted Education Page
The “all things gifted” page
 1150+ pages = Overwhelming
 Site-wide search on every page!
Not supported by advertising or grants
 Affiliates programs
 Click on Shop Hoagies’ Page
www.hoagiesgifted.org/shop.htm

4. Hoagies’ Gifted Education Page
Facebook / LinkedIn / Twitter feed
 Research summaries
 Quick events and contests
 News
 Gifted Parent, Teacher & Professional Q&A
©2003-2013 Carolyn
Kottmeyer

5. ©2003-2013 Carolyn
Kottmeyer
1, 2, 3, Testing…
Grade Level Achievement Test
 Out-of-level achievement test
Individual Achievement Test
Group Ability Test
Individual Ability / IQ Test

6. ©2003-2013 Carolyn
Kottmeyer
Ability Test Terms…
Criterion-referenced (CRT)
 Measure how well a person has learned a specific
body of knowledge and skills
 Content based on its significance in the curriculum
Norm-referenced (NRT)
 Compare an individual's score against the scores
of a group who took the same exam, the “norm
group” or “standardization sample”
 Content is chosen by how well it discriminates
among students
Some tests allow both comparisons…

7. ©2003-2013 Carolyn
Kottmeyer
Scoring terms…
Mean
 Average score on test
 IQ test expected to have mean of 100
Standard deviation (SD)
 Statistical term: difference from norm
 Two standard deviations above average is
considered gifted
 130+ (for standard deviation of 15)

8. ©2003-2013 Carolyn
Kottmeyer
Normal Distribution
Distribution of IQ Scores
http://encarta.msn.com/media_461540296/Distribution_of_IQ_Scores.html

9. ©2003-2013 Carolyn
Kottmeyer
Scoring terms…
Standard score
 Looks like IQ score, but may be very limited
 Mean = 100
 standard deviation may or may not = 15
Age Equivalent
Grade Equivalent
 Age / grade of average students with this score
(http://alpha.fdu.edu/psychology/oat_cereal.htm)

10. ©2003-2013 Carolyn
Kottmeyer
Scoring terms…
Percent Correct
 90% means 90/100 (or 45/50 or 9/10) correct
Percentile
 If 10% of norming group got 100%
correct, perfect score is 90th percentile
 50th percentile means average
Raw score
 Items correct of items attempted

11. ©2003-2013 Carolyn
Kottmeyer
Grade Level Achievement Test
Standardized for one grade level only
 Or less… early elementary grades have different
norms / tests available for fall and spring testing
Grade equivalents compare how child of
grade x would do on this grade level’s test
 NOT how this child would do on grade level x test!
Group test
 Testing in the classroom has built-in distractions…

12. ©2003-2013 Carolyn
Kottmeyer
Grade Level Achievement Test
Nationally normed
 ITBS, CAT-5, SAT 9, Terra Nova, CTBS, MAT
 Norm referenced (ITBS scores as both norm and
criterion referenced)
State mandated tests
 ESPA, GEPA, PSSA (Pennsylvania), TAAS, TAKS
(Texas)
 Criterion referenced
 MCAS (Massachusetts)
 Norm referenced, sort of…

13. ©2003-2013 Carolyn
Kottmeyer
Out-of-Level Achievement Test
Comprehensive achievement tests
 Developed for Talent Search or private schools
 More comprehensive content than typical group
achievement tests
Given to students 2-5 years younger than
norms
“Combs out” upper level achievement
 95th-99th percentiles are spread across entire
percentile spectrum on higher level test

14. ©2003-2013 Carolyn
Kottmeyer
Out-of-Level Testing
Used by Talent Search programs
 Johns Hopkins CTY / Northwestern CTD / Duke
TIP / Rocky Mountain Talent Search
 Carnegie Mellon C-MITES
Identify gifted students vs. high achievers
 Those still scoring in higher percentiles on 2-4
grade level higher test
 Usually 50th percentile or above
Examples: SCAT, Plus, Explore, SAT

15. ©2003-2013 Carolyn
Kottmeyer
Individual Achievement Test
Less questions per grade level, but more
grade levels covered
Norm-referenced scoring
 Compares child to average child of age/grade level
 Does NOT evaluate child on specific curriculum
content
Examples
 WIAT (Wechsler)
 K-TEA (Kaufman)
 PIAT (Peabody)
 WJ-III (Woodcock Johnson)

16. ©2003-2013 Carolyn
Kottmeyer
Individual Achievement Test
Watch for test ceilings
 Average 12th grade math = Algebra I
 Average 12th grade reading level…
Use WJ-III for older gifted kids
 12th grade ceilings on WIAT / PIAT / K-TEA
 18th grade ceiling on WJ-III
 18th grade is NOT post-graduate

17. ©2003-2013 Carolyn
Kottmeyer
Individual Achievement Test
Scores
Scores include
 Percentile
 Standard score
 Age and grade equivalent
If school doesn’t share all scores, insist!
 FERPA
Can also report score as if in higher grade
 Child is rising 3rd grader, report scores also as a
rising 4th grader to see how child would compare
to potential classmates

18. ©2003-2013 Carolyn
Kottmeyer
Curriculum Based Assessment (CBA)
Most valid for comparing child’s
achievement to school’s curriculum
Uses actual curriculum materials
 Standard midterm or final exam
 Compiled from end of chapter tests
 NOT chapter test after chapter test after
chapter test after…

19. ©2003-2013 Carolyn
Kottmeyer
Curriculum Based Assessment (CBA)
Conducted thoughtfully…
 Review may be allowed
 Answer terminology questions during
testing
Scored reasonably…
 85% - 90% correct
 Perfection is NOT the goal
 If the child doesn’t get required 85-90%, parts
of subject already mastered need to be skipped

20. ©2003-2013 Carolyn
Kottmeyer
Test Scores vs. Classroom
Placement
1. Curriculum Based Assessment
 CBA level = grade level
2. Out of level Achievement Test
 Comprehensive and above level
3. Individual Achievement Test
 Not as comprehensive for each grade level
 Compared to average students (norm-referenced)
 Useful for comparing child to heterogeneous elementary
school classroom
4. Group Achievement Test
 Tested grade level only
 Shows child is at or below grade level

21. ©2003-2013 Carolyn
Kottmeyer
Ability / IQ Test
Ability vs. Intelligence?
 Terms are interchangeable
Some tests are more widely
accepted, and have a more stable
test/retest and test to test correlation
 Buros Mental Measurements Yearbook
 Library reference section or
 www.unl.edu/buros/

22. ©2003-2013 Carolyn
Kottmeyer
Group Screening Measures
Be aware…
 Normalization sample size
 Mean, deviation, and standard measure of error
 Hard ceiling score
GATES and others
 Survey – only as good as teacher-training
SAGES and others
 Group test of both ability and achievement

23. ©2003-2013 Carolyn
Kottmeyer
Group Ability Test
Same problems as group achievement tests
 Written for a single grade level
 Administered in classroom environment
Group ability tests often underestimate scores
later received on individual tests
Examples:
 OLSAT (Otis Lennon Scholastic Abilities Test)
 CogAT (Cognitive Abilities Test) Co-normed with ITBS

24. ©2003-2013 Carolyn
Kottmeyer
Group Ability Test
Gifted children often over-think the questions
 No chance for tester to say, “What did you mean
by that?” “What’s a more common answer?”
Study shows Reverse correlation between
group ability test scores and gifted children
 The more gifted, the LOWER the test score!
Study shows LD/2e children underestimated
 These children are more accurately identified by
individual IQ test

25. ©2003-2013 Carolyn
Kottmeyer
Individual Ability Test
Considered best estimate of ability
 Still not perfect!
 Test style vs. child’s strengths
 Tester vs. child “fit”
Examples:
 Wechsler series (WPPSI-III, WISC-
IV, WAIS-IV)
 Stanford-Binet (SB-5)
 Differential Ability Scales (DAS-II)

26. ©2003-2013 Carolyn
Kottmeyer
Intelligence (IQ) Test
Less commonly used individual tests
 WJ-III cognitive (Woodcock Johnson)
 Different definition of intelligence
 Excellent for locating LDs in 2e child
 K-ABC (Kaufman Assessment Battery for
Children)
 Lots more… Inventory of Tests
www.hoagiesgifted.org/tests.htm

27. ©2003-2013 Carolyn
Kottmeyer
Intelligence (IQ) Test
Nonverbal tests
 Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test (NNAT)
 UNIT (Universal Nonverbal…)
 Ravens (group)
 Research shows NO cultural “fairness” in non-
verbal tests
 David Lohman, University of Iowa

28. ©2003-2013 Carolyn
Kottmeyer
IQ Test Ceilings
WISC-IV, WPPSI-III and SB-5
 Ceiling of Full Scale 160 (SD=15)
WJ-III Cognitive
 Ceiling of GIA depends on student age
(SD=15)
DAS (Differential Abilities Scales)
 Ceiling of General 175 (SD=15)
Other tests usually ceiling=160, SD=15

29. ©2003-2013 Carolyn
Kottmeyer
IQ Subtest Ceilings
WISC-IV / SB-5
 Subtests at scaled scores 17-19 (99th
percentile)
 Penalties for careful and thoughtful
completion (speed bonus)
 By some age, a child can get every WISC-III
question right, and still score under 130 due to
time penalties!
 Better on WISC-IV, but still strong time bias

30. ©2003-2013 Carolyn
Kottmeyer
IQ Testing
WISC (Wechsler)
"He [Dr. Wechsler] rejected most attempts that I made to add
easy or hard items to the WISC-R saying firmly, 'My scales are
meant for people with average or near-average
intelligence, clinical patients who score between 70 and 130.'"
"They are clinical tests." When I reminded him that
psychologists commonly use his scales for the extremes, and
want to make distinctions with the 'below 70' and 'above 130'
groups, he answered, "Then that is their misfortune. It's not
what I tell them to do, and it's not what a good clinician ought
to do. They should know better." (Kaufman, Intelligent testing
with the WISC-III ,1994)

31. ©2003-2013 Carolyn
Kottmeyer
IQ Subtest Ceilings
WISC-IV and WPPSI-III
 The WISC is not a good measure for children
scoring outside of 3 deviations from the mean. An
average subtest score of 14 or 15 is 2 standard
deviations outside the mean, an average subtest
score of 16 or 17 is 3 standard deviations outside
the mean. Sattler and Dumont do not discuss the
use of the test above those levels at all…
 Summary of Assessment of Children WISC-IV and
WPPSI-III Supplement, by Sattler and Dumont

32. ©2003-2013 Carolyn
Kottmeyer
The View from the Ceiling…
Was completion criteria reached?
 Completion criteria:
 <3 questions correct of 5 consecutive asked
Did student run out of test questions, or
score possibilities?
 If student answered more questions
correctly, could score increase?

33. ©2003-2013 Carolyn
Kottmeyer
Flynn Effect
According to Flynn…
IQ increases by 3 points every 10 years
Does Flynn effect apply at the
extremes?
 From SB-4 to SB-5, ~4 points at
mean=100
 Gifted sample SB-4 to SB-5 scores vary by
7+

34. ©2003-2013 Carolyn
Kottmeyer
Flynn Flam…?
Smart as We Can Get?: Gains on certain
tests of intelligence are ending in some
places, American Scientist
http://www.americanscientist.org/
Some countries are experiencing a
Flynn effect with a reversed sign…

35. ©2003-2013 Carolyn
Kottmeyer
Levels of Giftedness
Level IQ range Occurrence
Bright / High Achiever 115-130 1 in 6
Moderately Gifted 130-145 1 in 44
Highly Gifted 145-160 1 in 1,000
Exceptionally Gifted 160-180 1 in 10,000
Profoundly Gifted 180 + <1 in 1,000,000
Excerpt from “Exceptionally and Profoundly Gifted Students:
An Underserved Population” by Miraca U.M. Gross

36. ©2003-2013 Carolyn
Kottmeyer
Levels of Giftedness (SB-5)
Level IQ range
2 grades ahead by start
of K (MG)
125-135
Push the limits of gifted
program (HG)
130-140
Need big
accommodations, multiple
grade skips (EG)
135-141+
Probably never fit… (PG) 141+
“Ruf Estimates of Levels of Giftedness,”
http://www.talentigniter.com/ruf-estimates

37. ©2003-2013 Carolyn
Kottmeyer
Levels of Giftedness (WISC-IV)
Suggestion of new range above
130, would create these levels:
Level IQ range
Moderately gifted 130-138
Highly gifted 138-145
Exceptionally gifted 145-152
Profoundly gifted 152-160
Assessment of Children WISC-IV and WPPSI-III Supplement, by Sattler and Dumont

38. ©2003-2013 Carolyn
Kottmeyer
ID the Gifted with WISC-IV
WISC-IV subscales are lowering full scale IQ
 Identifying far fewer gifted students
For gifted sample, full scale IQ = 123.5
 Verbal Comprehension average 124.7
 Perceptual Reasoning score average 120.4
 Working Memory average 112.5
 Processing Speed average 110.6
(source: History of the WISC IV
http://www.psychpage.com/learning/library/intell/wisciv_hx.html)

39. ©2003-2013 Carolyn
Kottmeyer
ID the Gifted with WISC-IV
Full Scale IQ (FSIQ) should not be
reported if the variance from the
highest to lowest composite score is 23
points or greater
 Essentials of WISC-IV
Assessment, Flanagan and Kaufman (2004)

40. ©2003-2013 Carolyn
Kottmeyer
WISC-IV Global Ability Index
Publisher’s bulletin on Global Ability Index
(GAI)
 GAI removes Working Memory and Processing
Speed Index from calculation
 Do not assess what’s commonly included in gifted
programs
 Do not show the same 15 point standard deviation
 Published AFTER the WISC-IV
 Psychologists NOT notified after they purchase / train

41. ©2003-2013 Carolyn
Kottmeyer
WISC-IV Extended Norms
Publisher’s bulletin on Extended Norms
 Gives credit for correct answers above subtest
ceilings
 Used when child has 2+ 99th percentile (18 or 19)
subtest scores
 Published LONG after the WISC-IV – February
2008
 Psychologists NOT notified after they purchase / train

42. ©2003-2013 Carolyn
Kottmeyer
Stanford Binet Extended Norms
Publisher’s bulletin on Extended Norms
 Available only for those who achieve FSIQ
scores above 150
 Theoretical ceiling EX=225
 ~166 people at this level in the entire U.S.
(source: Riverside: Use of the SB5 in the Assessment
of High Abilities http://www.assess.nelson.com/pdf/sb5-asb3.pdf)

43. ©2003-2013 Carolyn
Kottmeyer
Measures of General Intelligence
Good Measures of “g”
 Arithmetic .768  optional subtest on WISC-IV
 Vocabulary .751
 Information .748
 Similarities .733
Fair Measures of “g”
 Matrix Reasoning .687
 Block Design .672
 Word Reasoning .648
 Comprehension .646
 Letter-Number Seq. .621
 Picture Completion .616
 Picture Concepts .582
 Symbol Search .568
 Digit Span .525
Poor Measure of “g”
 Coding .454
Poorest Measure of “g”
 Cancellation .209
(Keith, Fine, Taub, Reynolds, & Kranzler, 2004)

44. ©2003-2013 Carolyn
Kottmeyer
WISC-IV scoring…
 Harcourt Assessment WISC-IV Technical
Report #4 General Ability Index
http://www.pearsonassessments.com/NR/rdonlyres/1439CDFE-
6980-435F-93DA-05888C7CC082/0/80720_WISCIV_Hr_r4.pdf
 Harcourt Assessment WISC-IV Technical
Report #7 WISC–IV Extended Norms
http://www.pearsonassessments.com/NR/rdonlyres/C1C19227-
BC79-46D9-B43C-8E4A114F7E1F/0/WISCIV_TechReport_7.pdf
 NAGC Position Paper Use of the WISC-IV
for Gifted Identification
http://www.nagc.org/index.aspx?id=2455

45. ©2003-2013 Carolyn
Kottmeyer
How to ID the Highly Gifted?
Not easy!
Research shows parents often best
identifiers
Highly gifted intellectually doesn’t
necessarily correlate to high achiever
academically
Socially optimal IQ is about 125-140
(new test versions)

46. ©2003-2013 Carolyn
Kottmeyer
Gifted Assessment
School or Private
Testing
 IQ test (group or
individual)
 Achievement test (group
or individual)
Score report
Private
Testing & Assessment
 Individual IQ test
 Individual achievement
test
 Test / subtests for LD
identification
 Other measures as
needed
Recommendations
“Assessing Gifted Children” by Julia B. Osborn
www.hoagiesgifted.org/assessing_gifted.htm

47. ©2003-2013 Carolyn
Kottmeyer
Gifted AND Learning Disabled
Can this be?
 Yes!
Do these kids need to be identified?
 YES!
 They need appropriate work in their areas
of strength, AND appropriate remediation
or support in their areas of weakness
GT/LD kids are NOT average!

48. ©2003-2013 Carolyn
Kottmeyer
Gifted AND Learning Disabled
How can you identify these students?
 Combination of achievement and ability
testing, find subtest scatter and
discrepancies
 Look at subtest scores, not just full scale
 Verbal score is considered best estimate of
IQ
 Recommended: WJ-III cognitive and
achievement, in the hands of a gifted/LD-
knowledgeable tester

49. ©2003-2013 Carolyn
Kottmeyer
Resources
Testing and Assessment
www.hoagiesgifted.org/testing.htm
An Inventory of Tests
www.hoagiesgifted.org/tests.htm
A Parent’s Guide to IQ Testing and
Gifted Education
amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0977109852/thehoagiesgifted

50. ©2003-2013 Carolyn
Kottmeyer
Resource Articles
Why Test?
www.hoagiesgifted.org/why_test.htm
What Do Tests Tell Us?
www.hoagiesgifted.org/tests_tell_us.htm
Why Do My Child’s Test Scores Vary
From Test to Test?
www.hoagiesgifted.org/iq_varies.htm

51. ©2003-2013 Carolyn
Kottmeyer
Testing and Assessment
of Gifted Children
Questions?
Thanks!

52. ©2003-2013 Carolyn
Kottmeyer
Stanford Binet version 5
Change sensitive scores (age related)
can be used to calculate…
Rasch ratio scores
 Verbally gifted children: Rasch ratio scores
are similar to SB L-M scores
 Twice exceptional children: Rasch ratio
scores are higher than SB L-M
scores, perhaps indicating verbal AND non-
verbal strengths (SB L-M was entirely
verbal)