Reading a report · Reviewed 2026-09-23
Where to find GAI on a Wechsler report
Score reports do not share one layout. Q-interactive, a Word summary, and a clinic’s letter put Full Scale IQ and GAI in different places. Search the labels. This page tells you which labels are safe to paste into the calculator, and which look related but are not the composite.
The only two labels that matter here
You need Full Scale IQ (FSIQ) and General Ability Index (GAI). Both should be standard scores around the mean of 100, almost always between 40 and 160 on a Wechsler. The percentile beside them is a rank, not the score. The confidence interval (often shown as a range such as 104–114) is uncertainty around the score, not a second IQ. Paste the standard score in the middle of that story, the one the table calls the composite.
Ignore page numbers. A WISC-V score report from the publisher’s software and a two-page letter from a school psychologist can both be valid and still put GAI on different pages. Control-F, or a slow read of the headings, beats a screenshot from a stranger’s report.
Where examiners usually put them
- Score summary or cover table. FSIQ is almost always here, with the primary indexes (four on the WAIS-IV, five on the WISC-V and WAIS-5).
- Ancillary composites, or a second analysis page. GAI and CPI often live here, because they are optional. CPI is the Cognitive Proficiency Index, not GAI.
- Narrative. The letter may say “GAI was 118 (88th percentile).” The number before the parenthesis is the one to paste. Confirm it against the table if both exist.
- Protocol face sheet. The examiner’s booklet has raw and scaled scores. You do not need those if the summary already prints GAI.
WISC-V reports often list VCI, VSI, FRI, WMI, PSI, then FSIQ, then ancillary scores if selected. WAIS-IV reports list VCI, PRI, WMI, PSI, and FSIQ. GAI on that edition is VCI plus PRI subtests, not a fifth primary index. WAIS-5 returns to five primary indexes. If your headings do not match the edition named on page one, you may be reading a different battery.
Numbers that are easy to paste by mistake
| Label you might see | What it is | Paste it as GAI? |
|---|---|---|
| VCI / Verbal Comprehension | One index | No |
| PRI or FRI or VSI | Reasoning or spatial indexes | No |
| CPI | Working memory and speed | No — use the CPI page |
| Percentile | A rank, often 1–99 | No |
| Scaled score (mean 10) | A subtest, not a composite | No |
| GAI confidence interval | A range around GAI | No — use the point score |
| NVI / Nonverbal Index | A different ancillary composite | No |
A percentile of 84 is not a GAI of 84. On this scale, the 84th percentile is about a standard score of 115. Typing 84 into the calculator will invent a very low composite. If the only number you can find is a percentile, do not convert it yourself for a high-stakes reading.
If you cannot find GAI anywhere
Then it was probably not derived. Ancillary scores are a choice. Look once more for “General Ability” without the word Index, and for a table titled ancillary or complementary analysis. If it is still absent, you have indexes and FSIQ only. Describe those with the index calculator. Ask the examiner if you need official GAI. Do not fill the hole with an average of VCI and PRI and then treat the result as printed GAI. The reason is on how to calculate GAI.
A school summary sometimes reports only FSIQ and a gifted decision. That page is not enough for this calculator. Request the score report. You are entitled to ask the clinic that tested you, or the parent is, for the document that lists composites. This website cannot retrieve it.
Paste, then read the gap
Enter FSIQ in the FSIQ field and GAI in the GAI field on the calculator. Check the edition on the report against WAIS-IV, WISC-V, and WAIS-5 before you compare the number with a sibling’s score from a different battery. After the subtraction, use why GAI is higher than IQ only if the gap is positive and you have confirmed that memory or speed is the low side.
If the report is someone else’s, stop. Do not type a child’s scores into a public form you do not control, and do not post the sheet. The calculator runs in your browser, but the right reader of a minor’s protocol is the family and the clinician, not a forum.
Common questions
Is GAI on the first page?
FSIQ usually is. GAI is often on an ancillary table because it is optional. Search the label General Ability Index.
Which number do I type if I see 118 (88th percentile)?
118, if that figure is labeled GAI or FSIQ. The percentile is not the standard score.
My report has CPI and not GAI. What now?
You cannot invent GAI from CPI. CPI is the other composite. If you do have both GAI and CPI, use the CPI vs GAI calculator for that pair.
Can I use index scores when GAI is blank?
Yes, as indexes. The index calculator describes them. It does not convert them into official GAI.
Where to go next
The GAIvsIQ laboratory keeps one URL for each job. This note does not replace the instrument it points to.
Ready when you are
Found both standard scores?
Paste Full Scale IQ and GAI. Leave percentiles in the margin.