Testing Services

The Gifted & Talented Program offers the following testing service:

• Weschler Intelligence Scale for Children
  Test Administrator: Licensed Psychologist.
  To apply for the Weschler Intelligence Test, please fill out the Testing Application.
  
  
• SAGES-2 Testing-Sages Testing will be administered in February 2012. Please check back then.
  
  

The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC), developed by David Wechsler, is an intelligence test for children between the ages of 6 and 16 inclusive. The WISC generates an IQ score. The test comprises ten core subtests and five supplemental ones. The supplemental subtests are used to accommodate children in certain rare cases, or to make up for spoiled results which may occur from interruptions or other circumstances. Testers are allowed no more than two substitutions in any FSIQ test, or no more than one per index. These subtests then generate a Full Scale score (FSIQ), Verbal IQ and Performance IQ as well as four composite scores known as indices: Verbal Comprehension (VCI), Perceptual Organizational (POI), Processing Speed (PSI) and Working Memory (WMI).

The WISC is one of a family of Wechsler intelligence scales. Subjects over 16 are tested with the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS), and children ages three to seven years, three months are tested with the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI). Each of the ten core subtests is given equal weighting towards full-scale IQ. There are three subtests for both VCI and PRI, thus they are given 30% weighting each; in addition, PSI and WMI are given weighting for their two subtests each.

The VCI's subtests are as follows:

• Vocabulary - straightforward questions over the meaning of words
• Similiaries - asking how two concepts are alike
• Comprehension - questions about social situations or common concepts
• Information (supplemental) - general knowledge question

For more information, please email us at: gttesting@mail.montclair.edu

The SAGES-2 is helpful in identifying gifted students in kindergarten through eighth grade. Its three subtests assess aptitude and achievement to identify gifted students. Aptitude is measured via the Reasoning subtest. The student is asked to solve problems by identifying relationships among pictures and figures. The other two subtests (Mathematics/Science and Language Arts/Social Studies) assess achievement. Both of these subtests require the child to respond to questions in a multiple-choice format; items require recall, understanding, and application of ideas and basic concepts in the content areas. The subtests can be used to examine the relationships between aptitude and achievement.
The SAGES-2 can be used with students ranging in age from 5 to 14.11 years. Each untimed subtest requires approximately 20 minutes to  administer. All of the SAGES-2 subtests can be administered individually or in small groups.
The SAGES-2 has several uses:

• To identify students as gifted in the areas of intellectual and academic ability.
• To screen entire pools of students for possible inclusion in gifted programs.
• To examine strengths and weaknesses in academic and reasoning abilities.
• To serve as a measurement device in research studies investigating intellectual and academic ability in gifted students.

The SAGES-2 was normed on two large samples tested in 1998 and 1999. Sample One (normal sample) consisted of 3,023 students who were in heterogeneous classrooms, and Sample Two (gifted sample) consisted of 2,290 students who were identified as gifted by their local school districts. The demographic characteristics of both samples were matched to those of the 1997 U.S. Census. The normative sample was stratified on the basis of age, gender, race, ethnic group membership, and geographic location. Standard scores and percentile ranks are provided for both samples.
The reliability coefficients for the test are high, ranging from .77 to .95; 97% of these reach or exceed .80 and 74% reach or exceed .90. Test-retest studies show that the SAGES-2 is stable over time.
Extensive validity data are reported as well, documenting the test's relationship to the WISC®-III, OLSAT™, Stanford Achievement Test, and Gifted and Talented Evaluation Scale, and its efficiency in discriminating groups appropriately.
Note: The SAGES-2 is not intended for identifying children for classes emphasizing talents in creative, artistic, or leadership areas.

For more information, please email us at: gttesting@mail.montclair.edu