Wechsler Intelligence Scales

A battery of individually administered intelligence tests developed by Dr. David Wechsler for his adult patients at Bellevue Hospital in New York City in 1939 and was long known as the Wechsler-Bellevue Intelligence Scale. The first such test was developed specifically for adults and was a forerunner of a battery of individual intelligence tests developed for both adults and children. Among them are the following:

• Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, for people 16 or older. The test yields three scores, a verbal l.Q., a performance l.Q. and a full-scale E.Q. The verbal section of the test measures nonabstract thinking skills—breadth of knowledge, comprehension, arithmetic skills and vocabulary. The performance scale measures abstract and spatial skills with digit-symbol questions, picture completion, block design, picture arrangement and block assembly.
• Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, for children six to 16. Revised in 1974, the test is the most commonly used I.Q. test for this age group. It has 12 subtests grouped into verbal and performance sections that produce verbal, performance and full-scale I.Q. measurements. The verbal section consists of general information, general comprehension, arithmetic, similarities and vocabulary. The performance section consists of picture completion, picture arrangement, block design, object assembly and coding or maze exercises.
• Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence, for children three years old to seven years, three months. The test is derived from the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, with 10 subtests and one optional subtest grouped in verbal and performance sections, with categories of questions virtually identical to those of other Wechsler scales. The level of complexity, however, is lower, and it can be administered in two sessions to accommodate the shorter attention spans of younger children.