Named tests
WISC-V: Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children
In short
The WISC-V is the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fifth Edition, published by Pearson in 2014 for ages 6 to 16. It reports a Full Scale IQ from seven subtests and five primary index scores, all with an average of 100 and a standard deviation of 15. The core subtests take about 60 minutes.
Want your own number? The test is 25 visual puzzles, about 12 minutes, no sign-up.
What the WISC-V measures
Pearson lists the WISC-V publication date as 2014 and its age range as 6:0 to 16:11 (Pearson: WISC-V). It is the school-age member of the Wechsler family, between the preschool WPPSI-IV and the adult WAIS-5.
The test reports five primary index scores, and its Full Scale IQ is based on seven subtests (Pearson: WISC-V):
| Primary index | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Verbal Comprehension | Reasoning with words and word knowledge |
| Visual Spatial | Seeing and putting together shapes |
| Fluid Reasoning | Finding rules in new problems |
| Working Memory | Holding and reworking information in mind |
| Processing Speed | Fast, accurate work on simple visual tasks |
Format and timing
Pearson gives the core subtest time as about 60 minutes (Pearson: WISC-V). That is the testing time for the subtests needed for the main scores. Clinic fees for a full psychoeducational evaluation, covered below, show that the whole process is larger than the test itself.
How WISC-V scores are reported
A WISC-V report uses two scales. Subtests get scaled scores with a mean of 10 and a standard deviation of 3, ranging from 1 to 19, with 8 to 12 typically considered average. The index scores and the Full Scale IQ use a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15, with 90 to 109 typically considered average (Pearson: WISC-V UK sample report).
The primary index scores range from 45 to 155 and the Full Scale IQ from 40 to 160 (Pearson: WISC-V UK sample report). On the normal curve, 155 is higher than about 99.99% of same-age children and 160 is about 1 in 32,000, so the ends of the range are very rare. You can check any score with the IQ percentile calculator.
How stable are children's scores?
Children's scores can shift over time. In 225 clinic children retested on the WISC-V after an average of 2.6 years, only the Full Scale IQ, Verbal Comprehension and Visual Spatial scores had stability coefficients above 0.80 (Watkins et al., 2022). In plain terms, the overall score held up better than most of the narrower index scores. One score from one day is a snapshot.
Who gives it and why
If a WISC-V is part of an evaluation for gifted services, one benchmark is useful to know. The National Association for Gifted Children notes that many consider children in the top 10 percent relative to a national or local norm a good guide for identification and services (NAGC).
Costs vary. One University of Miami clinic lists a comprehensive psychoeducational evaluation at typically 1,750 dollars (Univ. of Miami clinic: fees), while the University of Wisconsin-Madison school psychology training clinic lists one at 600 dollars (UW-Madison SPTC: fees). Those are single clinics, not national averages.
For Mensa, American Mensa lists a Full Scale IQ of 130 on Wechsler tests as qualifying, given in full (American Mensa: qualifying scores).
How the WISC-V fits with the other Wechsler tests
All three Wechsler tests share the 100-centered scale, but they cover different ages and differ in length. The WAIS vs WISC vs WPPSI comparison lays them side by side. For how scores typically look at different ages, see average IQ by age.
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Try one · Spatial Reasoning
Which option is the same shape, only rotated?
Tap the option you think is right, or show the answer.
Show the answer
Option 2 is the original figure turned a half turn.
How to solve it
- Pick a landmark: the marked cell or the end of the longest arm.
- Turn the figure in your head and watch where that landmark goes, and which side the other cells end up on.
- Turning the figure a half turn gives option 2.
- Each of the other options is a mirror image: flipping it over would match, but no turn does.
That was 1 puzzle. The full test has 25.
Sources
- Pearson. Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fifth Edition (WISC-V), product page. 2014. www.pearsonassessments.com/store/usassessments/en/Store/Professional-Assessments/Cognition-%26-Neuro/Wechsler-Intelligence-Scale-for-Children-%7C-Fifth-Edition/p/100000771.html
- Pearson Clinical UK. WISC-V UK sample interpretive report (Q-global). 2016. www.pearsonclinical.co.uk/content/dam/school/global/clinical/uk-clinical/files/wisc5-sample-interpretive-report.pdf
- Watkins, M. W., Canivez, G. L., Dombrowski, S. C., et al. (2022). Long-term stability of Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fifth Edition scores in a clinical sample. Applied Neuropsychology: Child, 11(3), 422-428. doi:10.1080/21622965.2021.1875827 pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33556254/
- American Mensa. Qualifying test scores. www.us.mensa.org/join/testscores/qualifying-test-scores/
- National Association for Gifted Children. What is giftedness? (accessed 2026-10-21). nagc.org/what-is-giftedness
- University of Miami psychology clinic. Payment info. psc.psy.miami.edu/payment-info/
- University of Wisconsin-Madison, School Psychology Training Clinic. Fee schedule. edpsych.education.wisc.edu/clinics/sptc/sptc-fee-schedule/