In order to examine the hypothesis that children identified as "gifted" may have different patterns of scores on the WISC-R than children not identified as "gifted", the present study examined the WISC-R scores of three groups of children: those scoring in the average range, those with high IQ's, and those identified as "gifted." Factor analysis conducted on a sample of children identified as "gifted" yielded a four-factor solution accounting for approximately 65% of the total variance: Perceptual Organization, Verbal Comprehension, Acquisition of Knowledge, and Spatial Memory. Analyses of groups of children with average and above average intelligence scores revealed two-and three-factor solutions for the average children, but a pattern similar to the gifted child for the high IQ group. Results suggest that gifted children process information in a qualitatively different manner from average children.

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Several researchers have focused on the question of whether the traditional two-factor interpretation of WISC--R scores proposed by Wechsler (1974) is appropriate in selecting students to be admitted to gifted programs. Some researchers have suggested that the two-factor solution (Verbal and Performance) of Karnes and K. E. Brown provides the appropriate model, while others have proposed an alternative model based on exploratory research with gifted and average students. The current study expands exploratory findings of S. W. Brown with Rood in 1982 and Yakimowski in 1987, using confirmatory factor analytical procedures. The confirmatory factor analyses for selected groups of gifted (n = 158) and average (n = 195) students (M = 9.6 yr.) indicate that the alternative three-factor solution model may be a better system for interpreting the pattern of WISC--R subtest scores of gifted students than the conventional Verbal and Performance solution.