A modern revision of the standard of intelligence measurement since 1916.
Gale Roid, Ph. D.

• Age Range: 2*-85+ years
• Time:  50 minutes (approximately 5 minutes for each of the ten subtests)

Under the requirements of IDEA 2004, the SB-5 provides a comprehensive profile of scores to document the cognitive strengths and weaknesses of children, adolescents and adults with learning difficulties, delays and disabilities. Child-friendly manipulatives make the SB-5 popular for preschool testing. This collection of 10 subtests provides Nonverbal, Verbal and Full-Scale IQ scores and other diagnostic indexes and offers highly-reliable assessment of intellectual and cognitive abilities.

 The SB-5 is one of the major instruments used to assess intellectual giftedness, as many high-end items are included to ensure accurate measurement of high levels of gifted performance.  It also measures low levels of intellectual functioning, through improved low-end items and use of toys, for better measurement in the low-functioning range.

Pairs of SB-5 items measure five cognitive factors:

• Fluid Reasoning
• Knowledge  
• Quantitative, Visual-Spatial and Working Memory

The five nonverbal subtests are ideal for assessing:

• Individuals with limited English 
• Deaf and hard-of-hearing conditions
• Nonverbal learning disabilities 
• ADHD
• Traumatic Brain Injury  
• Autism Spectrum Disorders

Features of the SB-5
The SB-5 blends many important features of earlier editions with significant improvements in psychometric design.  Modern Item-Response Theory (IRT) provides a strong psychometric foundation in the routing, subtests and functional-level design. The subtests in Item Book 1 allow the remainder of the test to be adapted to the examinee’s estimated ability level. Research has shown that adapting the test to the appropriate functional level increases the precision of measurement by tailoring the difficulty of the items to appropriate levels, and saves time by allowing more cognitive tasks to be covered in the same time period. 

Optional “Change-Sensitive Scores” use modern Item-Response Theory (IRT) scaling to convert raw scores into criterion-referenced scores–anchored to age levels and complexity of the items at each score level.  These scores, as with non-referenced scores, have excellent measurement properties. They measure absolute (across age) levels of ability, and provide a means for comparing changes in an individual’s scores over time.  Relatively small “gains” or “losses” in intellectual ability can be tracked across time, with students in special education.   Parents and guardians of individuals with special needs will appreciate the straightforward information that is identified with changes over time. In contrast, when normative scores such as percentiles are used, changes across years are often hidden because the individual with special needs often lags behind peers, and does not “catch up” when normative scores are used alone.
 
Materials and Test Administration
The SB-5 includes toys, blocks, chips and other manipulatives that engage the attention of young children.  It is administered through an easy-to-learn easel format of three books.  Each Easel Book has illustrations on one side, and detailed examiner directions on the other.

Item Book 1 includes the Matrices and Vocabulary subtests, used as the initial assessment, or Abbreviated Battery IQ.

Item Book 2 has the Nonverbal subtests, arranged according to level of difficulty (Levels 1-6).  Different levels allow the test to be tailored to the examinee’s ability, saving time and making the assessment accurate and reliable.

Item Book 3 has the Verbal subtests, arranged by level of difficulty

Scoring and Interpretation
The SB-5 can be hand-scored or scored with the Optional Scoring Software.  Scaled scores for the ten subtests are Profile Scores, with a mean of 10 and a Standard Deviation of 3. These subtest scores combine to four types of composite scores; 5 factor indexes (Fluid, Knowledge, Quantitative, Visual-Spatial and Working Memory); 2 domains (Verbal and Nonverbal); Brief IQ from two subtests, and Full Scale (each with scaled score means of 100, SD=15 (range 40-160).  Two subtests (one verbal and one nonverbal) combine to form each of the 5 factor indexes.  There are two domain scales: Nonverbal IQ (combines the five Nonverbal subtests) and Verbal IQ (combines the five Verbal subtests). Two initial subtests combine to form the Abbreviated Battery IQ.   Finally, the Full Scale IQ combines all ten subtests.

The Examiner’s Manual provides detailed suggestions for interpretation of subtest and composite scores, tables of norms and additional interpretive guidelines.  Supplemental interpretive tables and indexes are included in the Technical Manual and Supplemental Interpretive Manual. The Optional Scoring Software automates the interpretive process by displaying narrative descriptions of scores and graphic profiles, along with identification of significant score differences.

Online Scoring and Report System

The new PC, Mac™, and tablet-compatible SB5 Online Scoring and Report System replicates the process of hand-scoring—users enter background information, age, and raw scores. This program provides consistency in raw score conversion, a standard summary graphical report, a detailed, narrative summary report with guidelines and suggestions based on well-established principles of assessment, and a general report describing the IQ and Factor scores. The report can be generated as a PDF or MS Word™ document for editing as necessary.

Ordering options:

• SB5 Online Scoring and Report System first-time base subscription provides one-year unlimited online scoring and report access for up to 5 users.

• Annual base subscription renewal provides one-year unlimited online scoring and report access for up to 5 users.

• Add-on license provides access for up to 5 additional users. Add-on user license can only be purchased with a base subscription. 

System requirements:

• Internet connection (broadband recommended)

• PC, Mac™ desktop or laptop computer or tablet.

• Web Browser with support for HTML5 (minimum acceptable versions include: Internet Explorer 9 or higher, Firefox 24 or higher, Safari 6.0 or higher, Google Chrome 34 or higher; Opera 22 or higher.

• Must enable Javascript.  (2016)

Statistical Characteristics of the SB-5
Normative data for the SB-5 were gathered from 4,800 individuals between the ages of 2-0 and 85+ years.  The normative sample closely matches the 2000 U.S. Census (education level based on 1999 data). Bias reviews were conducted on all items for the following variables: gender, ethnicity, cultural, religion, region and socio-economic status. Additionally, the SB-5 was co-normed with the Bender Visual-Motor Gestalt Test, 2nd Edition, and linked to the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Achievement.

Reliabilities for the SB-5 are very high.  For the Full Scale IQ, Nonverbal IQ and Verbal IQ, reliabilities range from .95 to .98 (average internal consistency composite reliability across all age groups).  Reliabilities for the Factor Indexes range from .90 to .92.  For the ten subtests, reliabilities range from .84 to.89.  Extensive validity studies were conducted, including clinical-group differences, correlations with other tests, age trends, factor structure, and consequential validity.  Many of these studies are presented in the Technical Manual, and others in the Supplemental Interpretive Manual.

Supplemental Interpretive Manual
The Interpretive Manual provides detailed guidelines for the effective interpretation of the SB-5 for a number of applications, including its use by psychologist