operation, and produce a result (e.g., repeat
backward digits presented by the examiner).
- TheProcessing Speed Index (PSI)consists of the
Coding and Symbol Search subtests, with the
new Cancellation subtest serving as a supple-
mental PSI subtest. The PSI, which also
appeared in the WISC-III, assesses speed of
information processing and involves timed
tasks.
Standardization. Normative data for the WISC-
IV were obtained from a standardization sample of
2,200 cases representative of the U.S. population of
children. Using year 2000 U.S. Census Bureau data,
cases were selected to represent the U.S. population
of children proportionally by race/ethnicity, geo-
graphic region, and parent education. The sample
included 200 children (100 girls and 100 boys) in
each of 11 age groups (ages 6 to 16 years).
A Brief Case Report: Intellectual Evaluation
The following brief excerpt is from a report written by
a clinical psychologist in response to a referral by a
primary care physician, who requested that her patient
be evaluated for cognitive limitations, especially in the
area of short-term memory and attention. The patient
reportedly had been experiencing difficulty at his new
job as a forklift driver in a warehouse. Specifically, he
was not meeting his quotas and was“forgetting”some
of the tasks assigned to him. Here, we present only the
WAIS-IV test results and interpretation.
Patient: RYAN, Adam (fictitious name)
Age: 28;Education: High School Diploma
Marital Status: Single
Test Behavior: Mr. Ryan was cooperative with all
aspects of the testing, working diligently on all tasks
that were presented. He did mention spontaneously
that he was“getting in trouble”alotbecauseofhis
forgetfulness. It was also apparent that Mr. Ryan
was distressed and bothered by his performance on
several subtests requiring that he hold new
information and then either repeat it back (Digit
Span) or perform operations on the information
(Arithmetic).
Intellectual Functioning: Based on his WAIS-IV scores,
Mr. Ryan is currently functioning in the Average range
of intelligence, with a Full Scale IQ of 100. An exami-
nation of subtest scores and Index scores, however,
revealed a great deal of variability. A complete listing
of his obtained scores appears below:
Verbal Comprehension Subtests
Vocabulary 12
Similarities 13
Information 11
(Comprehension) (12)
Working Memory Subtests
Arithmetic 7
Digit Span 6
(Letter-Number Sequencing) (5)
Perceptual Reasoning Subtests
Block Design 10
Matrix Reasoning 10
Visual Puzzles 10
(Picture Completion) (12)
(Figure Weights) (10)
Processing Speed Subtests
Symbol Search 9
Coding 9
(Cancellation) (10)
Composite Scores
Full Scale IQ 100
Verbal Comprehension Index 110
Perceptual Organization Index 103
Working Memory Index 75
Processing Speed Index 93
Although his scores related to verbal comprehension,
perceptual reasoning, and processing speed place him
in the Average range of functioning, Mr. Ryan’s
scores reflective of working memory place him in the
Borderline range of functioning. He demonstrated
weaknesses on those subtests requiring attention,
short-term memory, and the processing of new
information.
THE ASSESSMENT OF INTELLIGENCE 211
