IQ tests

[DiDe]

Can anyone tell me the stability of IQ test scores? Specifically, the subtests which measure cognitive fluency/processing speed. My son was tested in the 2nd grade on WISC III and scored superior for processing speed. He was tested again in the 8th grade on the Woodcock-Johnson III Test of Cognitive Abilities and scored low for Cognitive Efficiency. What would account for this drop in Cognitive Ability? What factors would change a person's Cognitive fluency?

[mouse_35]

If he has consistently scored high on IQ tests and other standardized tests, this is probably just a fluke. If the child is ill on the day of the test, it throws the test scores off, sometimes significantly.

[operation clinton cleanup]

Does he go to public school? Six years of dumming down could explain.

[Ward Smythe]

What factors would change a person's Cognitive fluency?

I'm no expert, but I would agree that it's probably a fluke. I have a 7th grader and am convinced we'll just have to forget about progress in the middle school years...

[Texaggie79]

How many times has he taken the second one? Sometimes the results aren't that accurate due to lack of concentration, ect. I was tested in 3rd and I didn't do that well, and all through elementary schoold I made not so good grades, then in 5th I actually tried on the IQ test and they bolted me to advanced learning.

I still remember my last day in regular class. I was informed that I would be put into a special learning class (I guess she didn't want to make the other students feel bad) then a student made a comment that he always knew I was stupid. She cracked back, "Not according to his IQ, he is twice as smart as you."

Oh, I loved that teacher.

[gracie1]

Please don't put to much stock in IQ tests. There is much to human character to makes a person sucessful in life. Pure intellect in itself is only one ingredient.

A good example is Bill Clinton. He's been called brilliant, but morally, he's bankrupt. President Bush may make some verbal faux pas', but his character is genuine.

[mlmr]

The younger the student the lower the reliability.

[Jaidyn]

My brother got low grades from the 3d to the 7th grade. I used to help him with his homework and got frustrated at times. In the 7th grade something awoke in him and he became a straight A student and graduated in the top 1% of his class. If your child is earnest in his studying, then I wouldn't badger him. I'd be wondering about the school's curriculum, though.

[FITZ]

They're not at all reliable with little kids. I've seen where they can jump around from 90 in 2nd grade to 130 in the 7th grade. It can be a kid having a bad day to what kind of logic the kid is using at that time in his life.

[realpatriot71]

Why is this important to you?

[DiDe]

Thank-you all for responding. I believe the reason my son's scores dropped so much is because he was on Ritalin for six years. I wanted to find out if there are other reasons for the decrease in cognitive fluency. I read the book "Talking Back to Ritalin" by Dr. Breggin and was shocked by the amount of evidence NOT provided to the public re: the harmful effects of Ritalin. I found out Ritalin causes mental rigidity - it's what makes these kids appear to be focusing. I didn't know this hyper focus was accomplished by brain dysfunction and that this dysfunction would have such serious effects on his inate processing speed. I pray to God this condition is not permanent. I am now home schooling him with a focus on restoring his brain function to where it was in the 2nd grade. This whole business started with his lag in learning to read. I've since found out that 42% of high school graduates read at or below a 4th grade level so the problem is not with the kids - it's with the method of instruction. And the solution is NEVER Ritalin.