Final answer:
Separate subtest scores on intelligence tests like the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-V) highlight a child's cognitive strengths and areas of difficulty, which can be essential for educational planning and diagnostic assessments in clinical settings.
Step-by-step explanation:
Separate subtest scores on intelligence pinpoint a child's strengths and help diagnose specific problems. The intelligence quotient (IQ) is a measure of human intelligence derived from standardized tests. Subtests of these IQ assessments, such as those incorporated in the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-V), contribute to a more nuanced understanding of intelligence by tapping into different cognitive domains. Each subtest generates a score that reflects an individual's performance in a specific area like Verbal Comprehension, Visual Spatial abilities, Fluid Reasoning, Working Memory, and Processing Speed.
By analyzing these individual scores, professionals can identify particular areas of cognitive strengths or weaknesses. This information is crucial not only for educational planning but also for determining accommodations in academic settings and beyond.
Furthermore, understanding a child's unique cognitive profile can also be helpful in clinical contexts, for instance, assisting in the diagnosis of intellectual disabilities, which include the subtypes of mild, moderate, severe, and profound as defined by the APA. When diagnosing intellectual disability (ID), a full assessment would include evaluation of cognitive functioning (typically two standard deviations below the mean on an intelligence test, or about 70) and adaptive behavior deficits that were present before the age of 18.