Can Practicing Arithmetic Subtest Increase The Score?

Posted on Wed, 24 Jan 2018

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Wed, 24 Jan 2018 Answered on

Fri, 22 Aug 2025 Last reviewed on

Question : Did doing the serial 7's task cause a practice affect for the wais arithmetic subtest. My doctor asked me to do serial 7's as an assesment 2 years ago, I was unable to do the task as I was unfamiliar with mental subtraction. I practised this task at home, 2 years later I did the wais arithmetic and scored very highly. Did doing the serial 7's artificially increase my wais score due to practice effect or does the practice effect only count if the exact same test is done twice not differing tasks.

Answered by Dr. Alexander H. Sheppe (7 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Consultation

Detailed Answer:
Hello, and thanks for your question.

Practicing does not artificially increase your score. The test is designed to measure what you are able to do at your best -- if you are able to do serial 7s even with practicing allowed, this is normal. Don't worry, your score is accurate.

Dr. Sheppe

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Arnab Banerjee