The IQ assessment serves as an initial screening step in the application process to determine if Nueva is a potential match for your child. It provides a "snapshot" of your child's cognitive skills at a particular point in time. It can also provide important insights into your child's approach to different types of tasks. 

Our experience has shown that students with a Full Scale Wechsler IQ Score around 130 (98th percentile) and above are more likely to be successful in Nueva's program. We encourage you to submit your child's results, regardless of the score, so we can assess their eligibility to proceed in the admissions process and provide guidance on the subsequent steps. 

If your child's results are determined by Nueva to not qualify, they will not be eligible to continue in our admissions process, and their application will be withdrawn from consideration. Please note that this will not negatively affect their application if you decide to have them apply in subsequent years. 

For applicants who are eligible to continue in the admissions process, the Admissions Committee carefully considers all factors in a child's profile such as developmental readiness, language exposure, academic skills, motivation, curiosity, social intelligence, resilience, and creative and divergent thinking in addition to the information yielded from the IQ assessment scores and narrative. These attributes are assessed through may aspects of the admissions process, including the Activity Session and student evaluation forms submitted by a child's current school.

You can have your child take the IQ assessment before they apply. Please provide the administering psychologist with the Submission Guidelines for Psychologists form. They must promptly email the results, cover sheet, and narrative report to the Admissions Office (results@nuevaschool.org) following the assessment. Once we receive the IQ assessment results from the psychologist, we will contact your family about your child's eligibility to continue in the admissions process. 

To take the IQ assessment on campus, the Family Information Form must be submitted through your Ravenna account to register for an appointment. See the "Can my child take the IQ assessment at Nueva?" FAQ for more information about who is eligible for on-campus appointments. 

Yes. To request financial assistance to help cover the cost of the IQ assessment, please complete and submit the Reduced Fee Application Form. 

Visit our Affording a Nueva Education page to learn more about our financial assistance program. 

Nueva accepts WPPSI-IV and WISC-V assessment results. Results for students applying to grades preK–8 must be submitted no later than Thursday, January 9, 2025. 

We recommend having your child assessed as soon as they reach the age requirement. The earlier the IQ assessment results are submitted to Nueva, the more options there are for scheduling other steps in the application process. 

Kindergarten and Middle School (grades 5–8) applicant families who submit the Family Information form and in-range IQ assessment results by November 13, 2024 are guaranteed an opportunity for an in-person Activity Session. 

IQ assessment results for Round II pre-kindergarten applicants (children turning 4 years old between January 10 and May 26) must be received by Wednesday, March 26, 2025. 

We recommend children be at least 4 years old because the assessment yields more information. However, children can be as young as 3 years 10 months old to take the Wechsler IQ assessment for our process. The Wechsler scores adjust for age and are based on your child's birth date, as well as extensive studies of children in the same age range. 

As one would expect, there is variation in the ability of young children to perform and focus on tasks. Some young children may not be ready to sit for an hour for the assessment. For multilingual children with a primary language other than English, an assessment at a younger age may under-represent a child's cognitive abilities. If you are unsure of your child's readiness, feel free to contact our Admissions Office for more information. 

For applicants to kindergarten through grade 8, we strongly recommend they take the IQ assessment the summer prior to applying to Nueva (June–August) or by mid-November to allow time to fully participate in all aspects of the admissions process. 

While it is preferred that children be 4 years old when assessed, the minimum age for a child to sit for the WPPSI-IV (IQ assessment) is 3 years and 10 months. If your child takes the IQ assessment before January 9 and before they are 4 years of age, they can be considered during Round I of the pre-kindergarten admissions process. Alternatively, you can choose to wait until you child turns 4 to have them take the IQ assessment, in which case they would be considered during Round II of the pre-kindergarten admissions process. 

If your child's birthday falls between March 10 and May 26, they may apply during Round II of the pre-kindergarten admissions process. IQ assessment results are due on March 26, 2025, while all other application materials must be submitted by January 9, 2025. Please keep in mind that if your child takes the IQ assessment after January 9 and their scores are not determined by Nueva to be in-range and therefore not eligible to continue with the admissions process, they will need to wait for a full 12 months before they can retake the assessment. As a result, they would not be eligible to apply for kindergarten admission in the following year. 

Approximately half of the pre-kindergarten class is offered enrollment in March (Round I), and the other half in early April (Round II). Students who receive wait pool letters in March will be reconsidered during Round II of the pre-kindergarten admissions process. 

If your child turns 4 between May 27 and August 31, they are not candidates for admission into our pre-kindergarten program. This is due to age requirements and how age-eligible test dates align with our school admissions and enrollment deadlines. We greatly hope you return to us next year when your child can apply as a kindergarten applicant.

We provide a Psychologist Resource List of licensed psychologists in our area. This list is not an endorsement of these psychologists nor a comprehensive list for the Bay Area. Be sure the psychologist you choose administers the WPPSI-IV for children under 6 years old or WISC-V for children over 6 years old. Older versions or other IQ assessments will not be accepted. 

Please read the IQ Assessment Guidelines and Release Form for Families and print, sign, and submit it to the administering psychologist, along with the Submission Guidelines for Psychologists form. The psychologist must promptly email the results, cover sheet, and narrative report to the Admissions Office (results@nuevaschool.org). 

On-campus appointments* for the IQ assessment are offered in October and November 2024 and are available to current community members (i.e., children of faculty and staff members and siblings of current Nueva students), families applying for financial assistance, and/or families applying from our partner community-based organizations (e.g., A Better Chance, Peninsula Bridge, SMART). Families who meet the criteria and would like their child to take the assessment at Nueva should email us at results@nuevaschool.org to schedule an appointment. Please note that spots are limited and fill quickly. 

*Nueva's on-campus assessment administration does not provide a narrative report. Results are emailed to families, and they include a face sheet with numerical scores and percentiles along with a general description of the subtests administered on the assessment. If applicants need or desire a narrative report, they should schedule the IQ assessment off campus. 

Please complete and submit the Reduced Fee Application Form to request financial assistance to help cover the cost of the Wechsler IQ assessment.

If you have any questions about financial assistance or the IQ assessment, please contact us at admissions@nuevaschool.org. 

We offer a limited number of on-campus appointments available to current community members (i.e., children of faculty/staff and siblings of current Nueva students), families applying for financial assistance, and/or families applying from our partner community-based organizations (e.g., A Better Chance, Peninsula Bridge, SMART). The WPPSI-IV (for applicants under 6 years old) and the WISC-V (for applicants over 6 years old) assessments are offered on the Nueva Hillsborough campus. The on-campus fee is $350 for the WPPSI-IV and $450 for the WISC-V. Your family will receive a numerical report via email*.

Families who meet the criteria and would like their child to take the assessment at Nueva should email us at results@nuevaschool.org to schedule an appointment. 

To request financial assistance to help cover the cost of the IQ assessment, please complete and submit the Reduced Fee Application Form. If you have any questions about financial assistance, please contact us at admissions@nuevaschool.org.

*Nueva's on-campus assessment administration does not provide a narrative report. Results are emailed to families, and they include a face sheet with numerical scores and percentiles along with a general description of the subtests administered. If applicants need or desire a narrative report, they should schedule the Wechsler assessment off-campus. 

Unfortunately, IQ assessments are the one evaluation where any type of practice will invalidate the child's scores. Children exposed to assessment content, preparation, and tasks, typically exhibit behavior that indicates prior exposure. When it is clear that a student has been exposed to the evaluation materials, their results will become invalid and their application will be withdrawn from our admissions process. Should prior exposure be indicated, the child must wait one full year before sitting for the assessment again.

Rest assured that during the evaluation, each sub-assessment has sample questions to ensure the child's understanding of the task. The best way to support and prepare your child is to make sure they have enough rest, eat a good meal/snack, and have some basic understanding of what to expect in their meeting. Let your child know that they will meet with someone who is interested in learning about their ideas, and who will lead them in problem-solving tasks and activities. There will be some questions that they will be unable to answer since the assessment is designed for children of all ages. They are not expected to know all the answers but simply try their best.

The WPPSI-IV (for children under 6 years of age) takes approximately one hour to complete. The WISC-V (for children 6 years old and older) takes approximately two hours and includes a break, if needed.

If you prefer not to know your child’s scores, you can request that they not be sent to you at the time of the assessment. In that case, you will only receive an email advising you of the next steps, as appropriate.

If your child's results fall outside our target range for the current admissions year and therefore are not eligible to continue in the Nueva admissions process, they must wait 12 months before retaking the assessment. 

If your child recently received an educational assessment in another setting, you should check to see if you already have results from the Wechsler assessment. If the results are less than two admissions cycles old, you may submit them. The Admissions Office may request or recommend an additional assessment if deemed appropriate.

If you have any questions regarding previous assessments, don't hesitate to contact us at admissions@nuevaschool.org.

Primary instruction at Nueva is in English, so all students are expected to be fluent in spoken English prior to joining our community. Because of this, the admissions process is conducted exclusively in English, including the administration of the IQ assessment. 

If your child’s first language is not English, it is important for the psychologist to have this information before the assessment. Please let us know when you are scheduling the appointment.

There is no difference in the administration, content, or scoring of the assessment, but it does help the psychologist interpret the results. The Wechsler instructions are given in English, and the results are relative to a child's age and normed on a mono-lingual English population.

If you have any questions about the process as it relates to your child's linguistic profile, please contact the Admissions Office at admissions@nuevaschool.org.

With young children in particular, we encourage parents to downplay the notion of a “test” and suggest that it is a time to have an adult's undivided attention to complete tasks and help with important jobs. It is a great time to share what they know.

The psychologists will help your child feel relaxed and engaged.

We strongly recommend that parents do not discuss the results of the assessment with young children because they lack the context for processing the information.

If your child is even slightly sick, we encourage you reschedule your appointment. It is important that children are healthy and feeling well for the assessment, as it cannot be taken again within a calendar year. A child's condition may worsen during the assessment, or they may be contagious and put others' health at risk.

For on-campus assessment appointments, please call us at 650-350-4528 and email results@nuevaschool.org with the subject line "Cancellation–(DATE) IQ Assessment" to reschedule your child's appointment if they feel ill. 

We will charge a $100 cancellation fee if you do not show up for your on-campus appointment or do not give us adequate notice (48 hours) of your need to reschedule.