could there be a problem

my 10 year old son had his iq tested at the age of 5. the results were in the superior range in both nonverbal and verbal sections with his total score being 127. he scored slightly better in the nonverbal areas than the verbal.  I have been concerned for the last two years about if he is reaching his true potential in the class room. i have just found out that he has been accepted in to school district gifted students program. the test used were the tola4 and ravens standard progressive  matrices test.  he scored in the 98th percentile for the tola4 and in the 84th percentile for the spm.  what i want to know is is it normal to have such a large difference between the two tests considering there was not much difference between verbal and non verbal iq scores?  can it indicate any potential problems?  i have always believed he was stronger in maths than english.  do these results confirm this?

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

It's important not to attribute too much significance to any differences between tests administered at the age of 5 vs. tests administered at the age of 10. The results of all the testing indicate that your son is very capable, barring any other problems (e.g., learning disabilities of some sort), and there's no reason to be concerned about the results you report.

[kidcare]

You also need to remember that any testing only shows what your child did on that day.  There are many variables that can influence test results.  Was your child sick, tired, hungry or had their been previous experience to the material presented?  Different testing instruments may score differently or one test may have been used as a screening instrument.  Whatever the case, don't place so much emphasis on the test scores or results, just support your child at the level where he is currently functioning.  Help him reach for the skies!