WISC-R PROFILES OF CHILDREN WITH SUPERIOR INTELLECTUAL ABILITY

The WISC-R profiles of 456 Grade 3 students with full scale IQs of 120 and above were analyzed. Large subtest scatter, verbal-performance di screpancy, and idiographic variability appear to be normal for the tes t profiles of bright students. They excelled in complex reasoning but were often not different from average students in their attention span , memory, sequential reasoning, visual-spatial perception, or visual-m otor coordination. Differences were identified in subgroups according to verbal or nonverbal strengths and gender. Boys showed strengths for simultaneous and visual-spatial reasoning, and girls showed strengths for sequential and social reasoning. Academic achievement varied as a function of full scale IQ and verbal or nonverbal strengths. Implicat ions for educational programming are discussed.