Qualifying for CLUE
Students may qualify for CLUE in one of two ways, depending on their age at the time of their referral. Students in kindergarten, first, or second grade can qualify with a reading test, administered by one of our district's CLUE teacher. Students must be reading at least two grade levels above their actual grade in order to qualify this way. The test assess both comprehension and word recognition. To have your student referred for testing this way, contact your child's classroom teacher or your child's CLUE teacher. Students can be referred both by teachers and parents.
Students in PreK and in Grades 3-9 qualify for CLUE following a rigorous screening process. The process begins with gathering information from teachers and parents about gifted and highly creative behaviors that the student may be exhibiting. If students score adequately on these checklists, parents are asked to sign a consent form that allows one of our school psychologists to administer an IQ test and an achievement test (if necessary). Once we have collected all data, the student's parents, his teachers, the CLUE teacher, and an administer review the results of the evaluation together and compare it against the gifted criteria set forth by the state of TN. The team determines if the student is eligibile for CLUE services. Read below for more information on intelligence testing and some information on IQ tests frequently used by MCS psychologists. This evaluation process can also be initiated by parents or teachers.
Intelligence Tests
There are many different ways of defining intelligence. Definitions of intelligence emphisize the ability to adjust or adapt to the environment, the ability to learn, or the ability to perform abstract thinking (e.g. to use symbols and concepts). Prominent in the definitions of intelligence are attributes such as adaptation to the environment, basic mental processes, and higher-order thinking (e.g. reasoning, problem solving, and decision making). (Sattler, 2001)
According to Cattell and Horn (1963), there are two types of intelligence - fluid and crystallized. Fluid intelligence refers to essentially nonverbal, relatively culture-free mental efficiency. It involves adaptive and new learning capabilities and is related to mental operations and processes. Examples of tasks that measure fluid intelligence are figure classifications, figural analyses, numbers and letter series, matrices, and paired associations.
Crystallized intelligence refers to acquired skills and knowledge that are developmentally dependent on exposure to culture. It involves overlearned and well-established cognitive functions and is related to mental products and vocabulary, general information, abstract word analogies, and mechanics of language.
Intelligence tests seek to measure a child's ability to compete in our society in ways that have economic and social consequences. As the best available predictor of outcome and adjustment, the IQ scores obtained from standardized intelligence tests provide teachers and parents with some idea about the child's capabilities. There are several different theories of intelligence, which have yielded a variety of assessment instruments.
Types of Scores
IQ Score - stands for "intelligence quotient" and is a standard score used to report results of intelligence tests. These scores have a mean of 100 and standard deviation of 15. Many intelligence tests do not use the term "IQ score" for their composite score.
Scale Score - used to report subtest scores on certain instruments. These scores have a mean of 10 and standard deviation of 3.
Percentile Rank - a point of distribution at or below which the score of a given percentage of individuals fall. For instance, if a student obtained a percentile rank of 75 this would indicate that this student scores the same as or better than 75 out of 100 students.
T Score - another type of standard score often used when reporting results from behavior assessment instruments. Scores of 70 or higher are considered significant while scores of 60 to 69 usually fall in the at-risk range. T Scores have a mean of 50 and a standard deviation of 10.
Type of Score | Extremely Low | Borderline | Low Average | Average | High Average | Superior | Very Superior |
Standard score | 69 and below | 70-79 | 80-89 | 90-109 | 110-119 | 120-129 | 130 and above |
Scaled Score | 1-3 | 4-5 | 6-7 | 8-11 | 12-13 | 14-15 | 16-19 |
Percentile | 2 and below | 3-8 | 9-24 | 25-74 | 75-90 | 91-97 | 98 and above |
Assessments Commonly Used by Memphis City Schools Psychologists
Reynolds Intellectual Assessment Scales
The Reynolds Intellectual Assessment Scales (RIAS) is an individually administered instrument for assessing the intellectual ability of children and adults. The RIAS provides a Composite Intelligence Index (CIX) that represents general intellectual ability. the Composite Intelligence Index score, Verbal Intelligence Index, an the Nonverbal Intelligence Index scores on this test have a mean (i.e. average score) of 100 and a standard deviation (i.e. measure of variance) of 15.
Verbal Intelligence Index (VIX) is composed of 2 subtests: Guess What and Verbal Reasoning
Nonverbal Intelligence Index (NIX) is composed of 2 subtests: Odd Item Out and What's Missing
Guess What | A verbal subtest that measure verbal reasoning as well as vocabulary, language development, and overall fund of knowledge. Examinees are given a set of two to four clues and asked to deduce the objects or concept being described. |
Verbal Reasoning | Measures verbal reasoning in combination with vocabulary, language development, and overall fund of available information. Examinees listen to a statement that forms a verbal analogy and are asked to respond with one or two words that complete the idea or preposition. |
Odd Item Out | Measures nonverbal reasoning skills but also requires the use of skills such as spatial ability and visual imagery. Examinees are presented with a picture card containing five to seven pictures and are asked to designate which one does not belong or go with the others. |
What’s Missing | Measures nonverbal reasoning. Examinees are shown a picture with some key element or logically consistent component missing and are asked to identify the missing essential element. |
Weschler Intelligence Scale for Children - 4th Edition (WISC-IV)
Like the WISC-III, the WISC-IV is an individually administered measure of intellectual ability for children ages 6-16. The total composite is still the Full scale IQ score; however, four index scores have replaced the Verbal and Performance IQ scores. The index scores are: Similarities Measures abstract thinking, logical thinking and reasoning Vocabulary Measures verbal fluency as well as word knowledge and usage Comprehension Measures common sense, social knowledge, practical judgment in social situations, and social maturity Block Design Measures the ability to analyze and synthesize an abstract design and then produce the design with colored blocks; involves nonverbal concept formation, visual perception, and simultaneous processing. Picture Concepts Measures abstract, categorical reasoning ability Matrix Reasoning Measures visual information processing and abstract reasoning skills; it is relatively culture and language free Digital Span Measures short-term auditory memory, sequencing, attention and concentration Letter-Number Sequencing Involves sequencing, mental manipulation, short-term auditory memory, and visual-spatial sequencing Coding Measures visual-motor speed and short-term visual memory Symbol Search Measures visual search and scanning ability, visual-perception skills, and visual discrimination Receptive Vocabulary Assesses the ability to comprehend verbal directions, auditory and visual discrimination, auditory memory, and auditory processing Information Measures the ability to acquire, retain, and retrieve general cultural knowledge and required facts Vocabulary Measures verbal fluency as well as word knowledge and usage Word Reasoning Assesses verbal comprehension, analogical and general reasoning ability, and the ability to generate alternative concepts Picture Naming Assesses expressive language ability, word retrieval from long-term memory, and association of visual stimuli with language. Block Design Measures the ability to analyze and synthesize an abstract design and then produce the design with colored blocks; involves nonverbal concept formation, visual perception, and simultaneous processing. Picture Concepts Measures abstract and categorical reasoning Matrix Reasoning Measures visual information processing and abstract reasoning skills; it is relatively culture and language free; requires no hand manipulation Object Assembly Assesses visual-perceptual organization, nonverbal reasoning and trail and error learning Coding Measures visual-motor speed and short-term visual memory Symbol Search Measures visual search and scanning ability, visual-perception skills, and visual discrimination
The Verbal Comprehension Index (VCI) scale - assesses verbal concept formation, verbal reasoning, and knowledge acquired from one's environment
The Perceptual Reasoning Index (PRI) scale - measures perceptual and fluid reasoning, spatial processing, and visual-motor integration
Working Memory Index (WMI) scale - assess the student's ability to temporarily retain information in memory, perform some operation, and produce a result
Processing Speed Index (PSI) scale - measures a student's ability to quickly and correctly scan, sequence, or discriminate simple visual information.
Weschler Preschool and Primary Scales of Intelligence Third Edition (WPPSI-III)
The WPPSI-III is an individually administered measure of intellectual ability for children ages 2 years 6 months through 7 years 3 months. The total composite is the Full Scale IQ score, and there are also Verbal and Performance IQ scores. The core subtests for ages 2-6 to 3-11 are different than those for ages 4-0 to 7-3. Results are reported in standard scores (mean of 100, standard deviation of 15), scaled scores (mean of 10, standard deviation of 3) and percentiles.
Verbal Subtests
Perceptual Reasoning Subtests