About the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC)
The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC), first published by psychologist David Wechsler in 1949, is an individually administered IQ test for children ages 6 to 16. It is the child counterpart to the adult WAIS and remains the most widely used childhood intelligence test, currently in its fifth edition, the WISC-V (2014).
By the late 1940s, the Wechsler-Bellevue Intelligence Scale (1939) had become the dominant US adult intelligence test, displacing the Stanford-Binet in most clinical practices. But children needed a different instrument: the Wechsler-Bellevue items were too verbally demanding and culturally adult-oriented for use with school-age children. David Wechsler set out to create a children's version.
The 1949 WISC covered ages 5-15. It had the same Verbal + Performance structure as the Wechsler-Bellevue, with 12 subtests grouped into Verbal Scale (Information, Comprehension, Arithmetic, Similarities, Vocabulary, Digit Span) and Performance Scale (Picture Completion, Picture Arrangement, Block Design, Object Assembly, Coding, Mazes). The Picture Arrangement, Coding, and Mazes subtests were specifically designed for children.
The WISC went through revisions in 1974 (WISC-R), 1991 (WISC-III), 2003 (WISC-IV), and 2014 (WISC-V, current). The current WISC-V covers ages 6 to 16:11 and reports five composite scores: Verbal Comprehension, Visual Spatial, Fluid Reasoning, Working Memory, and Processing Speed. The WISC family has been administered to hundreds of millions of children worldwide over the past 75 years. It is the most-used child IQ test in the world and is the standard instrument for school giftedness identification, learning disability diagnosis, and pediatric neuropsychological evaluation.
The 2 subtests
Sample Items (Illustrative)
Items on the WISC are presented as direct questions or tasks, and responses are typically scored based on accuracy or completion. Some subtests involve verbal responses, while others require manipulation of physical objects or visual problem-solving.
These are illustrative samples, not actual items from the protected test.
Source
All test materials and historical content on this page are transcribed from:
David Wechsler (1949). Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC).
WISC, WISC-R, WISC-III, WISC-IV, and WISC-V are under Pearson copyright. We document the test's history and significance.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC)?
The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) is an individually administered intelligence test for children ages 6 to 16, first published in 1949. It measures general cognitive ability along with specific domains such as verbal reasoning, working memory, and processing speed, producing a Full Scale IQ and several index scores. It is the child version of David Wechsler's adult intelligence scale and is the most widely used childhood IQ test worldwide.
Who created the WISC and in what year?
The WISC was created by American psychologist David Wechsler and published in 1949. Wechsler adapted his adult test, originally the Wechsler-Bellevue Intelligence Scale, for children, building a downward extension that became the standard children's intelligence measure. He authored the WISC after developing his influential adult scales, and his name remains attached to the entire Wechsler family of tests.
What does the WISC measure and how is it scored?
The WISC measures a child's cognitive ability across multiple domains and yields a Full Scale IQ plus index scores covering areas such as verbal comprehension, visual-spatial or perceptual reasoning, working memory, and processing speed. It uses the deviation IQ method, where a child's performance is compared to the average for their exact age group rather than to a mental-age formula. Scores are set so that 100 is average and most children fall between 85 and 115.
Is the WISC still used today?
Yes. The WISC remains the dominant childhood intelligence test and is widely used in schools, clinical practice, and gifted and special-education evaluations. The current edition is the WISC-V, published in 2014, which retains Wechsler's deviation-IQ and index-score structure while updating the subtests and norms. The 1949 original has been revised several times to keep its content and normative samples current.
What is the difference between the WISC and the WAIS?
The WISC and the WAIS are both Wechsler intelligence scales, but they target different age ranges. The WISC (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children) is for ages 6 to 16, while the WAIS (Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale) is for ages 16 and older. They share the same underlying design, including the deviation-IQ scoring method and index-score structure, with the WISC serving as the child counterpart to the adult WAIS.
What is the current version of the WISC?
The current version is the WISC-V, the fifth edition, published in 2014. It follows the 1949 original (WISC), the 1974 WISC-R, the 1991 WISC-III, and the 2003 WISC-IV. The WISC-V continues to produce a Full Scale IQ along with primary index scores and is the version administered in most modern child IQ and cognitive assessments.
Cite this page
This page is part of the Historical IQ Tests Archive. Editorial content, transcription notes, and curation are released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0). Public-domain primary sources retain their public-domain status. BibTeX · RIS
Historical test materials are obsolete and are not valid modern IQ assessments. This page is preserved for educational, research, and historiographic purposes.
Looking for a contemporary IQ test?
The instrument documented above is a historical document. Modern IQ scoring uses contemporary norms (mean 100, SD 15). Our free full IQ test is available separately.