3716 - MOVING BEYOND IQ: ADVANCING MULTIDIMENSIONAL ASSESSMENT OF COGNITIVE AND DEVELOPMENTAL PROFILES

Session: 3713 - FROM IQ TO DEVELOPMENTAL PROFILES: INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES ON MULTIDIMENSIONAL ASSESSMENT IN CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS WITH THE IDS-2
AUTHORS:
Hasselhorn Kilian (Hogrefe Publishing Group ~ Göttingen ~ Germany) , Freudenstein Jan-Philipp (Hogrefe Publishing Group ~ Göttingen ~ Germany)
Abstract text:
To address diverse learning needs, school psychologists require assessments that go beyond a single intelligence score. Focusing exclusively on IQ may obscure other critical developmental aspects (e.g., Alzahrani et al., 2019; Best et al., 2011). Integrating both cognitive and developmental measures within a single tool allows for a more comprehensive understanding of a child's strengths and challenges. This presentation first presents the validity of the cognitive assessment integrated in the Intelligence and Development Scales - 2 (IDS-2; Grob & Hagmann-von Arx, 2018) by comparing it with the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-IV/V; Wechsler, 2003/2014) across multiple language versions. To investigate the added value of developmental measures alongside cognitive ability, we conducted latent profile analyses on a large international sample assessed with the IDS-2 (N = 8,446; from Germany, Italy, Netherlands, United Kingdom, U.S., Sweden, in 2018-2025). In this study we identify distinct subgroups with unique constellations of cognitive and developmental characteristics that extend beyond general intelligence. Findings are expected to replicate aligned profiles previously reported (e.g., Grieder & Grob, 2020), but also to reveal subgroups with specific strengths and weaknesses. Such profiles offer practical insights for tailoring support, moving beyond static IQ cutoffs that risk misrepresenting the needs of gifted as well as underperforming learners. By highlighting the incremental validity of developmental profiles, this study underscores the value of multidimensional assessments for nuanced student profiling and evidence-based decision-making in school psychology.