IQ FAQ

The Nueva School has remained true to its mission to meet the needs of students with high potential, and to cultivate and serve intellectually and creatively gifted learners.

In considering students for admission, we look for evidence of:

  • intellectual curiosity and engagement
  • independent thought and depth of ideas
  • creativity and flexibility in approach to problem solving
  • divergent and critical thinking
  • ability to listen to, build on, and contribute ideas

Part of the admissions process for grades preK–8 includes submitting the results of an IQ evaluation. The Nueva School currently accepts the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence, Fourth Edition (WPPSI-IV) for children under six years old, and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fifth Edition (WISC-V) for children six years old and older. Please review our Guidelines to Submit Testing for more detailed information about testing requirements.

The Admissions Office understands a family's desire to optimize their child's performance when being tested. However, do not expose your child to any IQ test materials and/or practice documents. Prior exposure to said materials—even materials that are similar in type—will influence the child's scores and the test will become invalid. Invalid test scores will result in an application being withdrawn from our admissions process.

Note: With the relaxing of Safer at Home measures, many psychologists are currently able to assess students in person again. Given the unknowns associated with COVID-19, we recommend having your child tested as soon as possible rather than waiting until later in the fall or winter, when in-person testing may not be available. There will be virtual options available if in-person assessment is not possible, but we feel that in-person testing gives the most accurate picture of a student's abilities.

The Admissions Office is always delighted to receive applications well in advance of the deadline!

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate
to call 650-350-4528,
or email admissions@nuevaschool.org.