FAQS: Frequently asked questions about giftedness

Who should perform testing
and how does reliable intelligence
assessment work?
Regardless of how good a test may be, the key to
successful assessment lies in the appropriate use of the
test and the correct interpretation of the results. Comprehensive
skills in psychodiagnostics and also fundamental
knowledge of theory and research findings are essential.
Consequently, tests should only be administered by psychologists
with a professional degree (German “Diplom”
degree or Master’s degree) or by professionally qualified
special education instructors. These specialists should also
have experience in working with children and adolescents
as well as experience in testing exceptionally intelligent
children.
Ideally, two intelligence tests should be administered
on different days. Testing is based on the premise that the
child is motivated and able to complete the test tasks to
the best of his or her ability. In addition, a preliminary
interview focusing on the child’s development and the
specific questions to be addressed in the diagnostic process
should take place to allow the selection of the appropriate
test procedures.
Additional data should be collected from the parents
and also from the school when possible to gain a more
comprehensive impression of the child.
Together with IQ scores or other norm values, feedback
of results should also include “confidence intervals.”
After all, a degree of inaccuracy must be assumed for all
test instruments—and this is also true for intelligence
tests. However, this measurement inaccuracy can be
clearly estimated for intelligence tests, and this is accounted
for by the confidence intervals. The actual IQ of
the tested child is contained, with a specific certainty of
typically 95 or 99 percent, within these intervals. For example,
for a measured IQ of 135, the confidence interval
would range from IQ 128 to IQ 142.
For an overview of the leading intelligence test instruments
and a discussion of their use in giftedness assessment,
please visit the Karg Foundation’s giftedness resource
portal (only available in German language):
42 43