THE 

WECHSLER INTELLIGENCE SCALE FOR
 CHILDREN – FOURTH EDITION 
(WISC-IV; WECHSLER, 2003)

Mertcan Ayan

Perihan Akyol

Reyhan Butel

Simge Çiçek

Buse Usta

Betül Polat

Sena Mualla Medeni 

 THE WECHSLER INTELLIGENCE SCALE FOR CHILDREN –
FOURTH EDITION (WISC-IV; WECHSLER, 2003)

• Fourth edition made in 2003 in the USA, and started to be

implemented in Turkey in 2013. 

• Task-based test
WHAT IS
THE
PURPOSE OF Measures intellectual ability
Overall measures of general
THE TEST? of children 6 years to 16 
years and 11 months.
cognitive ability

Measures of intellectual
fuctioning  in Verbal
Comprehansion (VC),
Perceptual Reasoning (PR),
Working Memory (WM),
Processing Speed (PS)  
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THE TEST?

A COMPREHENSIVE UNDERSTANDING OF ITS VALID INFORMATION ON

FACTOR STRUCTURE IN PARTICIPANTS THE INTELLECTUAL,COGNITIVE, LEARNING
INTELLECTUAL FUNCTIONING ABILITIES OF PARTICIPANTS
APPROPRIATE  USAGE
• It is individually administered, and has 15 subtests. 

• Each subtest is allocated to either the

Verbal Comprehansion (VC), Perceptual Reasoning (PR), Working Memory
(WM), Processing Speed (PS) subscales.

• Each subscale has to standardized

APPROPRIATE  USAGE
• Each participant and their parents have  to interviewed separately in testing
sessions over two consecutive days if its needed. 
• Breaks were provided as if needed.
• parental consent forms have to completed prior to the assessment. 
• The data collected covered a comprehensive demographic, medical
(primarily neurological and endocrinological), educational, psychological,
familial, and social assessment of the participants and their family based on
information obtained from parents and participants .
• Additional measurements of standard procedures can apply.
 WISC-IV is only applied by
WHO CAN psychologists (according to the laws in
Turkey) who have completed their training by
ADMINISTER the Turkish Psychological Association. After
the intelligence test, two different reports are
THE SCALE? prepared, namely family and expert reports.
An expert report is prepared for the
psychiatrist or school counselor who will be
involved in the follow-up of the child or will be
involved in the next process. The certificate
number demonstrating the competence of the
practitioner should be included in both reports
HOW LONG
DOES IT TAKE
TO ADMINISTER?
•The WISC 4 intelligence test takes
approximately 1.5 – 2 hours. However, a flexible
schedule is used to make the child feel
comfortable in this regard. Some children may
need more time to finish the test. Or the child
may get bored in the middle of the test and may
not want to continue. In both cases, helping the
child is essential.
• Verbal comprehension   • Working Memory
• Subtests: 3 
• Subtests:2
• (similarity, vocabulary, and comprehension)
• supplementary subtest: 1  • (digit span, letter-number
• (information)
sequencing)
• Supplementary subtest:1 
•  Perceptual Reasoning  • (arithmetic)
• Subtests: 3 
• (block design, picture concepts, matrix
reasoning) • Processing Speed
• Supplementary subtest:1  • Subtests:2
• (picture completion) • (coding, symbol search)
• Supplemantary subtest:1 
• (cancelation)
 WHAT ARE THE
COMPONENTS?

The components of WISC-IV

are Verbal Comprehension ,
Perceptual Reasoning , Working
Memory, and Processing Speed.
RELİABİLİTY: İNTERNAL CONSİSTENCY

• Split half method

• WISC-3 AND WISC-4
• From .88(except speeded test) to .97(full scale)
• Similar correlation
• RELIABLE
RELIABILITY: TEST-RETEST STABILITY

• 32 days
• Stable scores across time
• Five separate age bands
• Similar results
FACTOR ANALYTIC STUDIES
• Evaluation of structure
• To measure same four domains
    Verbal comprehension
    Perceptual organizing
    Freedom from distractibility
    Processing speed
• According to age groups
• (6-7, 8-9, 10-11, 12-13, 14-16)
VALIDITY: RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER MEASURES
• Cocurrent validity
• WISC4 –WISC3
• WAIS-3  - Weschler test for adults
• CMS – children's memory scale
• GRS  - gifted rating scale
• Measure and predict same construct
      When we look at the relationship between
 WISC-3 and WISC-4 
• High correlation
• VCI .87 (verbal comprehension index)
• PRI .74 (perceptual reasoning index)
• WMI .72 (working memory index)
• PSI .81 (processing speed index)
• FULL SCALE .89
• VALİD
WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGEOUS?
• Clinical utility for decision-making
• Four index scores as primary interpretive structure
• Improved  version of WISC-3
• New subtests and removed subtests
• The assessment of fluid reasoning, working memory, and processing speed
• Colorful, child friendly artwork
• Large number of reliability and validity scores
• Easier kit portability
• Identifying in learning disabilities, gifted children
WHAT ARE THE
DISADVANTAGEOUS?
• Not two times in a year on a children
• Old, 2003
• New version but not in Turkey
• 2 hours
• 15 subtests, 10 compulsory
• 2 session applying test, giving feedback
 THE SECOND PART: 
 RESEARCH ARTİCLES 
CLİNİCAL PRESENTATİONS OF
ATTENTİON-DEFİCİT/
HYPERACTİVİTY DİSORDER (ADHD)
İN CHİLDREN AND ADOLESCENTS:
COMPARİSON OF
NEUROCOGNİTİVE PERFORMANCE 

VİRGİNİA KRİEGER & JUAN ANTONİO

AMADOR-CAMPOS
 THE AIM OF THİS RESEARCH

•  The difference between children and adolescents with Typical

Development and two common ADHD types  (ADHD-Inattentive
and ADHD-combine) through comparing their performance in
working memory (WM), processing speed (PRS), and attention
measure. 
• The predictive ability of neuropsychological measures to distinguish
children and adolescents with ADHD and TD by using WISC-IV
and d2 attention test( Krieger, V., & Amador-Campos, J. A. 2021).
THE DSM-5 Three types of ADHD:
(THE
DIAGNOSTI
C AND The predominantly inattentive
STATISTICA (ADHD-I), 
L MANUAL
OF MENTAL The predominantly
DISORDERS Impulsive/Hyperactive (ADHD- HI), 
)
DEFINITIO
N OF ADHD
The combination of these two types
(ADHD- C).
 TD group’s score will be higher than two common
ADHD groups in the WISC-IV general ability index.

HYPOTHESES The ADHD group will perform worse than TD on all

neuropsychological measures. Also, there are several
differences between two common ADHD
groups(ADHD-I and C).

Neuropsychological measures of Working Memory,

Processing speed and attention will accurately predict
ADHD presentations in all age ranges ( Krieger, V., &
Amador-Campos, J. A. 2021).
METHOD The sample involved 260 children and adolescents
aged between 8 and 16 years. There are two groups
in the sample. 
1. PARTICIPANTS
The sample involved 260 children and adolescents
aged between 8 and 16 years. There are two groups
in the sample. 

The first group is children with the ADHD and it

has 138 participants.

 The second group is children with

Typically Development and it  has 122
participants. ( Krieger, V., & Amador-Campos, J. A.
2021)
2. PROCEDURE

•In the first part, the information about children’s development and medical condition was
obtained from families and caregivers. 
•In the other parts; different kinds of tests such as intelligence, cognitive and behavioral
executive functions, temperament and personality were administered( Krieger, V., & Amador-
Campos, J. A. 2021).

3. INSTRUMENTS 

• WISC-IV General Ability Test

• D2 Attention Test 

4.DATA ANALYSIS PLAN

• Chi-Squared
• ANOVA
• Raw scores transformed into Z scores.
• WISC-IV General Ability Index scores used
 1. Differences between ADHD and TD groups in
WISC-IV GAI scores in children (8 to12).
2. No differences between ADHD and TD scores
in WISC-IV GAI scores in adolescent (13 to
16). 
THE 3. Children with ADHD had poorer scores than
TD on all neuropsychological measures. WM,
FINDINGS  PRS, and attention measures are better
discriminate ADHD presentations in children
rather than adolescents due to their developing
brain networks.  
4. All neuropsychological measures predict
ADHD and TD in both age ranges.
5. In evaluating children and adolescents with
ADHD, WISC-IV GAI is more useful than
FSIQ (Krieger, V., & Amador-Campos, J. A.
2021). 
LIMITATIONS AND FUTURE
STUDIES
•Not confirm causality relationship
• The size of the sample was not balanced in both age
ranges.
•Future studies need to require;
• a larger ADHD sample.
• Consider samples in terms of gender.
 ARTICLE:
THE DİAGNOSTİC UTİLİTY
OF THE WECHSLER
INTELLİGENCE SCALE FOR
CHİLDREN-FOURTH
EDİTİON (WISC-IV) İN
İDENTİFİCATİON OF GİFTED
CHİLDREN
 

GÜLSEN ERDEN , İBRAHİM YİĞİT , CİHAT

ÇELİK & MELİKE GUZEY
 THE AIM OF THIS RESEARCH

This study aimed to investigate the diagnostic validity of the

Turkish version of the WISC-IV, which is one of the most
commonly used intelligence tests to assess whether a child is
gifted  (Erden, G., Yiğit,İ., Çelik, C. & Güzey, M.,2020). 
 METHOD
1. PARTICIPANTS
•                           The study's sample was divided into two groups.

The first group consisted of 201 gifted The second group contained 201
children who were educated in special non-gifted children who were
educational institutions. educated in primary or high schools.
 2. PROCEDURE

1-The approval of the school administration was acquired.

2-WISC-IV was administered to all children.

3- All gifted children had a WISC-R score of 120 or higher, which is a

criteria for enrollment in these centers.

4- For the aim of this study, the WISC-IV was administered to

volunteer children chosen at random from these centers.
 3. INSTRUMENTS 

• Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-IV) 

• The Full Scale Intelligent Quotient 
 4.DATA ANALYSIS PLAN
• Descriptive statistics of the WISC-IV scores among both gifted and non-
gifted children
• Logistic regression (binary) analyses 
• Regression analysis
• SPSS
THE FINDINGS OF THIS RESEARCH

1-  The Perceptual Reasoning Index, Working Memory Index, and Processing
Speed Index scores were found to be significant predictors of giftedness. However,
the Verbal Comprehension Index was not significantly associated with
giftedness (Erden, G., Yiğit,İ., Çelik, C. & Güzey, M.,2020). 

2- The study also discovered that, with the exception of the Letter-Number
Sequencing subtest, all subtest scores strongly predicted giftedness (Erden, G.,
Yiğit,İ., Çelik, C. & Güzey, M.,2020). 
DISCUSSION
• The WISCIV scores provide valid and reliable results.
• The study's result that the Perceptual Reasoning Index score
significantly discriminated gifted children from non-gifted children.
• It appears crucial that gifted children be educated in both academic and
nonacademic disciplines. 
• Thanks to the Perceptual Reasoning Index, Parents, teachers, and
practitioners can identify these children early.
• The results show that the Verbal Comprehension Index does not
significantly predict giftedness.
 Limitation of  generalizability

Limitation of giftedness components 

LIMITATIONS
  General Ability Index not included.

Training effects in gifted education not

adjusted.
Restricted Classification (under-achiever, over-
achiever)
 •  Investigating cognitive abilities of
FUTURE STUDIES gifted children who are underachievers.

• Different assessment tools for future

investigations.
 REFERENCES
• Erden, G., Yiğit,İ., Çelik, C. & Güzey, M.(2020). The diagnostic utility of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for
Children-Fourth Edition (WISC-IV) in identification of gifted children. The Journal of General Psychology, 1-
20. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221309.2020.1862038

• Krieger, V., & Amador-Campos, J. A. (2021). Clinical presentations of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

(ADHD) in children and adolescents: comparison of neurocognitive performance. Child Neuropsychology: a
journal on normal and abnormal development in childhood and adolescence, 1–30. Advance online
publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/09297049.2021.1917530 

• Williams, P. E., Rolfhus, E. l., & Weiss, L. G. (2003). WISC–IV Technical Report #2 Psychometric Properties.
The Psychological Corporation a Harcourt Assessment Company. 

• Uluç, S., Öktem, F., Erden , G., Gençöz, T., & Sezgin, N. (2011). Wechsler Çocuklar için Zeka Ölçeği-IV:
Klinik Bağlamda Zekanın Değerlendirilmesinde Türkiye için Yeni Bir Dönem. Türk Psikoloji Yazıları.

• Gomez, V., Vance, A., & Watson, S.D. (2016; 7: 737) Front Psychol. Structure of the Wechsler Intelligence
Scale for Children – Fourth Edition in a Group of Children with ADHD