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Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI-III)
Availability
Please visit this website for more information about the instrument: Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence
Classification
Supplemental – Highly Recommended: Congenital Muscular Dystrophy (CMD)
  • Highly recommended for psychological and neuropsychological studies for preschool age children (2;6-7:7 years).

  • Recommended for other types of studies as a way to characterize the study population.

Supplemental: Cerebral Palsy (CP), Epilepsy, Mitochondrial Disease (Mito), and Neuromuscular Diseases (NMD).
Short Description of Instrument
The Wechsler scales are the most common tests of general cognitive abilities. The primary advantage of the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI-III) includes the comprehensiveness of the assessment, which includes measures of working memory and processing speed in addition to verbal and non-verbal measures. Thus, normative performances on domain-specific WPPSI-III subtests can be characterized relative to each other based upon formal difference scores derived from WPPSI-III normative sample. In addition, the tests and scale itself is a downward extension of the WISC, which is a CDE for older children. Thus, using tests in the same family facilitates longer term longitudinal studies in which children may cross age thresholds for test administration.
Comments/Special Instructions
There is no formal short form of the WPPSI-III. Researchers wishing a use short form may generate FSIQ estimates derived from either 2-subtest (Vocabulary, Matrix Reasoning) or 4-subtest (Vocabulary, Similarities, Block Design, Matrix Reasoning) combinations. This test selection corresponds to the 2- and 4-subtest combinations for the WASI. There is no Spanish version of the test.
 
Administration: Paper-and-pencil, face-to-face, individual; requires training to administer.
 
Age Range: 2 years, 6 months –7 years, 7 months.
 
Time: Core subtests: Ages 2:6–3:11, 30–45 minutes; Ages 4:0–7:3, 45–60 minutes
Scoring
Scoring Options: Manual, Software-based, web-based
Publication Date: WPPSI-IV was published in 2012 (WPPSI-III was published in 2002)
Primary Dependent Measures: Full Scale IQ (FSIQ), Primary and Ancillary Index scores, Subtest Scaled scores
 
The Primary Index scales include:
  1. Verbal Comprehension Index (VCI)

  2. Visual Spatial Index (VSI)

  3. Working Memory Index (WMI)

  4. Fluid Reasoning Index (FRI)

  5. Processing Speed Index (PSI)

 
The Ancillary Index scales include:
  1. Vocabulary Acquisition Index (VAI)

  2. Nonverbal Index (NVI)

  3. General Ability Index (CAI)

  4. Cognitive Proficiency Index (CPI)
Rationale/Justification
Norms: Updated normative sample standardized on 1,700 children ages 2:6–7:7, stratified to match current U.S. census data based on sex, race/ethnicity, parent education level, and geographical region for each group.
References
Wechsler related bibliography across study populations: Pearson Clinical Website
 
WPPSI-IV validity studies with various diagnostic groups: Pearson Clinical Website
 
WPPSI used in CMD studies:
 
Messina S, Bruno C, Moroni I, Pegoraro E, D'Amico A, Biancheri R, Berardinelli A, Boffi P, Cassandrini D, Farina L, Minetti C, Moggio M, Mongini T, Mottarelli E, Pane M, Pantaleoni C, Pichiecchio A, Pini A, Ricci E, Saredi S, Sframeli M, Tortorella G, Toscano A, Trevisan CP, Uggetti C, Vasco G, Comi GP, Santorelli FM, Bertini E, Mercuri E. Congenital muscular dystrophies with cognitive impairment. A population study. Neurology. 2010;75(10):898-903.

 

Document last updated July 2018