What age is the WPPSI-IV for?

Ages 2:6 to 7:7. From age 6 the WISC-V overlaps; Pearson suggests the WPPSI-IV when below-average ability is suspected and the WISC for high-ability children.

How long does the WPPSI-IV take?

The core subtests take 30 to 45 minutes at ages 2:6 to 3:11 and 45 to 60 minutes at ages 4:0 to 7:7.

What does the WPPSI-IV measure?

Under age 4: Verbal Comprehension, Visual Spatial and Working Memory. From age 4: those three plus Fluid Reasoning and Processing Speed, all rolled into a Full Scale IQ.

Can a preschool IQ score change?

Yes. Scores at young ages are less settled; heritability of general ability keeps rising through childhood, from 41% at age 9 to 66% at 17 in one large twin study.

Can I give my child the WPPSI-IV at home?

No. It is a restricted clinical test given one to one by a qualified examiner.

Named tests

WPPSI-IV: Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence

In short

The WPPSI-IV (Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence, Fourth Edition) is Pearson’s individually given IQ test for children aged 2 years 6 months to 7 years 7 months. Published in 2012 and normed on 1,700 children, it gives a Full Scale IQ plus three primary indexes for the youngest children and five from age 4.

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Who it is for

Pearson lists the WPPSI-IV, by David Wechsler, as published in 2012 for ages 2:6 to 7:7 (Pearson: WPPSI-IV). It is the youngest member of the Wechsler family: the WISC-V takes over from 6 to 16 and the WAIS-5 from 16 to 90. Between 6:0 and 7:7 the two child tests overlap, and Pearson advises the WPPSI-IV when below-average ability is suspected, because it has a lower floor, and the WISC for high-ability children, because it has a higher ceiling (Pearson: WPPSI-IV).

Two structures, by age

Age band	Primary indexes	Core testing time
2:6 to 3:11	Verbal Comprehension, Visual Spatial, Working Memory	30 to 45 minutes
4:0 to 7:7	Verbal Comprehension, Visual Spatial, Fluid Reasoning, Working Memory, Processing Speed	45 to 60 minutes

Sources: Pearson's brochure and product page (Pearson WPPSI-IV brochure) (Pearson: WPPSI-IV). Ancillary indexes include a Vocabulary Acquisition Index, a Nonverbal Index, a General Ability Index and a Cognitive Proficiency Index (Pearson WPPSI-IV brochure).

The 15 subtests

The brochure lists 15 subtests: Information, Similarities, Vocabulary, Comprehension, Receptive Vocabulary, Picture Naming, Block Design, Object Assembly, Matrix Reasoning, Picture Concepts, Picture Memory, Zoo Locations, Bug Search, Cancellation and Animal Coding (Pearson WPPSI-IV brochure). The three processing speed subtests are game-like and children mark answers with an ink dauber instead of a pencil (Pearson WPPSI-IV brochure). Picture Completion was dropped from this edition to reduce the emphasis on speed (Pearson: WPPSI-IV).

Norms and scores

The test was standardized on 1,700 children aged 2:6 to 7:7 (Pearson WPPSI-IV brochure). It reports a Full Scale IQ, primary index scores and ancillary index scores (Pearson: WPPSI-IV). For comparison, the WISC-V reports its index scores and Full Scale IQ with mean 100 and standard deviation 15 (Pearson: WISC-V UK sample report). See what a Full Scale IQ is and what a scaled score is.

Reading a young child's score

A preschool score is an early snapshot. In a large twin sample, the heritability of general cognitive ability rose from 41% at age 9 to 66% at age 17 (Haworth et al., 2010), a sign that differences between children keep developing for years. Treat a WPPSI-IV score as useful information for now, especially for planning support, rather than a permanent label. See can a child's IQ change and at what age a child can take an IQ test.

Related tests

For the whole Wechsler family side by side, see WAIS vs WISC vs WPPSI. The Stanford-Binet 5 also starts at age 2 and covers the whole lifespan in a single test.

IQ Octopus is not affiliated with or endorsed by Pearson or any other publisher named here. Test names are used only to identify and describe the tests. Our free practice tests are not copies of any published test, and no score on IQ Octopus predicts a score on another test.

Try one · Pattern Recognition

Which tile comes next?

Tap the option you think is right, or show the answer.

Show the answer

The missing tile shows a very large hatched arrow pointing down (option 1).

How to solve it

Compare neighboring tiles and name what changes each time.
From tile to tile, the arrow turns a quarter turn counterclockwise.
The fill cycles hatched, outline and solid, then starts again.
Everything else stays the same from tile to tile.
The last tile shows a very large solid arrow pointing left. Apply each change once more.
So the missing tile shows a very large hatched arrow pointing down.

That was 1 puzzle. The full test has 25.