The Wechsler Intelligence Scales for Children—the WISC-R, WISC-III, and WPPSI-R

Abstract

The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R, Wechsler, 1974) is, as its name suggests, a revised and updated version of the WISC, which was first published in 1949. It attempts to measure intelligence by assessing 10 abilities. (Actually, there are 12 with the supplementary Digit Span and Mazes subtests.) Its scoring procedure results in a scaled score for each of the subtests. These scores have a mean of 10 and a standard deviation of 3. The scaled scores are combined to produce scores for Verbal IQ (VIQ), Performance IQ (PIQ), and Full Scale IQ (FSIQ). The IQ scores have a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15. The WISC-R is an extremely popular instrument that has been translated into different languages including Saudi (Qataee, 1993). The WISC-R has since been revised and updated as the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Third Edition (WISCIII). However, owing to similarities between the two instruments, critique of the WISC-R will help inform use of the WISC-III.