The WPPSI-IV is the test a psychologist gives a four-year-old when a gifted kindergarten asks for an IQ, or when a preschool has raised a concern. Parents meet it with no warning and with the WISC-V's reputation attached. It is a different instrument in two important ways, its structure changes at age four and its scores are less settled than a ten-year-old's, and Pearson's brochure and sample report are the source for both.
Download the WPPSI-IV sheet (PDF) (the two age bands and their index structures, the 15 subtests with what each asks, the score bands with percentiles and the questions to ask; two pages, free).
What it is
| WPPSI-IV | |
|---|---|
| Publisher, year | Pearson, 2012 (the WPPSI-III was 2002) |
| Ages | 2 years 6 months to 7 years 7 months |
| Given by | Qualification level C: a psychologist or other examiner with graduate training in individual intelligence testing |
| Time | Core subtests 30 to 45 minutes at 2:6 to 3:11; 45 to 60 minutes at 4:0 to 7:7 |
| Scores | Full Scale IQ, primary and ancillary index scores (mean 100, SD 15); subtest scaled scores (mean 10, SD 3); percentile ranks; confidence intervals |
Two age bands, two structures
The test's structure changes at the fourth birthday, because two- and three-year-olds cannot yet do the fluid reasoning and timed processing tasks reliably.
Ages 2:6 to 3:11: three primary indexes
| Index | Core subtests | Supplemental |
|---|---|---|
| Verbal Comprehension | Receptive Vocabulary; Information | Picture Naming |
| Visual Spatial | Block Design; Object Assembly | |
| Working Memory | Picture Memory; Zoo Locations |
Ancillary indexes at this age: Vocabulary Acquisition (Receptive Vocabulary and Picture Naming), Nonverbal (Block Design, Object Assembly, Picture Memory, Zoo Locations) and General Ability.
Ages 4:0 to 7:7: five primary indexes
| Index | Core subtests | Supplemental |
|---|---|---|
| Verbal Comprehension | Information; Similarities | Vocabulary; Comprehension; Receptive Vocabulary; Picture Naming |
| Visual Spatial | Block Design; Object Assembly | |
| Fluid Reasoning | Matrix Reasoning; Picture Concepts | |
| Working Memory | Picture Memory; Zoo Locations | |
| Processing Speed | Bug Search; Cancellation | Animal Coding |
Ancillary indexes at this age: Vocabulary Acquisition, Nonverbal, General Ability (the verbal, visual spatial and fluid reasoning subtests, less dependent on memory and speed) and Cognitive Proficiency (working memory and processing speed), which can be compared with each other.
The 15 subtests, in plain words
| Subtest | What the child does |
|---|---|
| Receptive Vocabulary | Points to the picture that matches a word |
| Picture Naming | Names a pictured object |
| Information | Answers general-knowledge questions, with pictures at the early items |
| Similarities | Says how two things are alike (a picture version at first) |
| Vocabulary | Names pictures, then defines words |
| Comprehension | Answers questions about everyday situations and rules |
| Block Design | Copies a design with blocks within a time limit |
| Object Assembly | Fits puzzle pieces together into a familiar shape |
| Matrix Reasoning | Picks the piece that completes a matrix |
| Picture Concepts | Chooses one picture from each row that go together |
| Picture Memory | Looks at pictures, then finds them on a page of more pictures |
| Zoo Locations | Sees animal cards placed on a zoo layout, then replaces them from memory |
| Bug Search | Marks with an ink dauber whether a target bug appears in a row (a child-friendly Symbol Search) |
| Cancellation | Daubs the target objects (clothing) among others, in random and in rows |
| Animal Coding | Daubs the shape that goes with each animal, from a key |
Pearson's brochure describes the three processing-speed tasks as game-like, with an ink dauber because many four-year-olds cannot yet manage a pencil at speed, and wider spacing to allow for motor development.
The scores and the bands
| Score | Descriptor | About this share of children | Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| 130 and above | Extremely High | 2% | 98th and above |
| 120 to 129 | Very High | 7% | 91st to 97th |
| 110 to 119 | High Average | 16% | 75th to 90th |
| 90 to 109 | Average | 50% | 25th to 73rd |
| 80 to 89 | Low Average | 16% | 9th to 23rd |
| 70 to 79 | Very Low | 7% | 2nd to 8th |
| 69 and below | Extremely Low | 2% | 2nd and below |
Pearson's sample report for a child of exactly 2:6 shows what the page looks like: seven subtest scaled scores (Receptive Vocabulary 12, Information 10, Picture Naming 2, Block Design 8, Object Assembly 12, Picture Memory 11, Zoo Locations 9), each with a percentile and an age equivalent, then the three index scores and the Full Scale IQ with confidence intervals. The spread in that sample (a 2 beside a 12) is the kind of thing an examiner follows up, and at two and a half it may mean a shy child, a tired child or a real language delay; the report's narrative, not the table, says which the examiner thought.
Two cautions that belong on every WPPSI-IV report. Scores at these ages predict later ability less well than school-age scores, and children change quickly, so a gifted programme reading a 3:10 score as fixed is reading too much into it. And a confidence interval of ten or more points is normal; a Full Scale IQ of 127 (95 percent interval about 120 to 132) and one of 131 are not meaningfully different children, however a cut-off at 130 treats them.
When it is used
- Gifted or early-entry admission to a kindergarten or a private school that requires an individual IQ test; most public gifted programmes screen with a group test later instead (the gifted page has the process).
- Developmental or language concerns from a paediatrician or a preschool, where the index profile, the Vocabulary Acquisition index and the examiner's observations matter and the IQ does not.
- Early special-education eligibility, as the cognitive measure beside adaptive and language assessments.
For a child of 6:0 to 7:7 the examiner chooses between the WPPSI-IV and the WISC-V; for a child under 2:6, or one who needs a single scale from 2 upward, the Stanford-Binet starts at 2:0.
Download the WPPSI-IV sheet (PDF) (the age bands, the subtests, the bands and the questions; two pages, free).
Where to get help
A 1-on-1 online class with a tutor who holds a master's degree and teaches the US curriculum from Grade 1 number work to AP Calculus, chemistry and physics, at 7 am before school, after 4 pm and on weekend mornings, US time, for US$10 to $13 an hour: the evaluation report read together in the free 30-minute first class, the subtest or cluster the score is really pointing at found, and the term spent on exactly that skill, with the method written out the way the school marks it. How online tutoring from India to the USA works, or the 1-on-1 online tutoring page.
Sources: Pearson, Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence, Fourth Edition, product page (ages 2:6 to 7:7; completion times by age band; qualification level C; the new composites for ages 4:0 to 7:7); Pearson, WPPSI-IV brochure: the 2:6-3:11 and 4:0-7:7 test structures with core and supplemental subtests, the ancillary indexes and their definitions, the 15 subtests, the processing-speed tasks and the ink dauber; Pearson, WPPSI-IV sample score report for a child aged 2 years 6 months (2012): the subtest scaled scores and percentiles quoted. The descriptor table and percentiles are Pearson's Wechsler descriptors and the normal-curve reading of a scale with mean 100 and SD 15. Fetched 9 November 2026.
Questions parents ask
1What is the WPPSI-IV test?
2How long does the WPPSI-IV take?
3What does the WPPSI-IV measure?
4What is a good WPPSI-IV score?
5Why would a preschooler take an IQ test?
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