1. Introduction to the WIAT-III
Presented by
George McCloskey, Ph.D.
Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine

2. New Age Range (temporary): 4-0 to 19-11 Adult Norms planned for 2010
WIAT-III: What’s New?
New Age Range (temporary): 4-0 to 19-11
Adult Norms planned for 2010

3. WIAT-III: What’s New? Materials
Record Form
Longer – 52 pages, but space is well-used to improve ease of administration
All administration and item directions are in the Record Form; no need to refer to the manual during testing

4. Quick Administration Guide for Each Subtest on Record Form

5. General Directions for Each Subtest on Record Form

6. Correct Answer Key for Each Subtest Item on Record Form

7. WIAT-III: What’s New? Materials
Stimulus Booklet
Only one booklet, not two
Contains only items; no subtest directions in easel
Items on both sides of easel pages; work through one side then flip over to continue
More durable construction

8. WIAT-III: What’s New? Materials
Oral Reading Fluency Booklet
Durable, reusable, washable booklet; student reads from this booklet
Word Reading and Pseudoword Decoding Cards
New items but no design changes

9. WIAT-III: What’s New? Materials
Response Booklet
Longer - 32 pages
Used for 9 different Subtests
Improved Item layout for Numerical Operations

10. WIAT-III: What’s New? Materials
Examiner’s Manual
Administration and scoring; analysis and interpretation
Not used for test administration
Appendices contain expanded scoring guidelines for specific subtests

11. WIAT-III: What’s New? Materials
Technical Manual on CD only
Contains Norms Tables
Information about psychometric properties

12. WIAT-III: What’s New? Materials
Scoring Assistant
Provided as part of basic kit
Expanded capabilities
Item Scoring (interactive scoring guide for Essay Composition)
Item skill analyses
Goal & Objective statements

14. Derived Scores for Composites and Subtests
Standard Score
Percentile Rank
Normal Curve Equivalent
Stanines
Grade Equivalent
Age Equivalent
Growth Scale Values
Status
Scores
WIAT-III offers two types of scores: Status Scores, such as standard scores, percentile ranks, normal curve equivalents, and stanines are relative standing scores. These scores indicate position of examinee’s raw score in relation to the distribution of scores in a specific grade level or age group.
Grade Equivalents, Age Equivalents, and growth scale values are considered Growth Scores or developmental scores. They locate an examinee’s raw score on a developmental continuum that spans the full range of grade levels and age groups.
Growth
Scores

15. Assessment in a Three Tier Model
Educators need to be aware of psychometric pitfalls in attempting to assess response to intervention using standard scores from norm-referenced tests.

16. Attempting to Assess Response to Intervention Using Standard Scores
100
100 ? 78
Time 1
Time 2

17. Attempting to Assess Response to Intervention Using Standard Scores
100 78
Time 1
Time 2

18. Attempting to Assess Response to Intervention Using Standard Scores
100 78 ?
Time 1
Time 2

19. Attempting to Assess Response to Intervention Using Standard Scores
Time 1
Time 2
100 78 70

20. Attempting to Assess Response to Intervention Using Standard Scores
The score graphs demonstrate the fact that the use of age- or grade-referenced standard scores to monitor performance across time will not effectively characterize progress in situations where the amount of progress made is less than the average amount of progress made by same-age or same-grade peers.

21. Constructing Grade Equivalents30 25 20 15 10
Interpolate
K.6
1.6
2.6
3.6
4.6
5.6
6.6
2.9

22. Word Reading Subtest 109 102 100 82 (1.6) (6.3) (7.1) Time 1 11/03
Grade 4.3
Time 2
6/04
Grade 5.10
Time 3
3/06
Grade 7.7

23. WIAT-III: What’s New? Growth Scale Values
Growth Scale Values can be used to monitor progress instead of Standard Scores or Grade Equivalent
Grow Scale Values are psychometrically sound and reflect change in a more accurate manner than Grade Equivalents

24. Assessing Response to Intervention Using Growth Scale Values
453
503
360
445
Time 1
Time 2

25. WIAT-III: What’s New? Growth Scale Values
When interpreting student performance:
Use Standard Scores to report how the student is performing compared to same age or same grade peers
Use Growth Scale Values to reflect intra-individual growth

26. Subtest Administration Order
Whenever possible, subtests should be administered according to the order of subtests in the Record Form
Simply skip any unwanted subtests
Alterations to the order should be based on clinical need (not examiner preference)
Every effort should be made to administer subtests in one session.

27. Start and Stop Points
Generally acceptable to choose an earlier or later start point if the grade-appropriate start point is too easy/difficult
HOWEVER – If you choose an earlier start point and then child gets credit on grade-appropriate start item and next 2 items
THEN full credit is rewarded on all items preceding grade-appropriate start point

28. ERASERS - WHY NOT???
“The student must write his or her responses using a pencil without an eraser. Students who participated in the standardization sample were required to use pencils without erasers because erasure marks can make the student’s response difficult to read and score. FOR THIS REASON, STUDENTS MUST CORRECT ERRORS BY MARKING OUT AND REWRITING.”

29. WIAT-III: What’s New? Subtests and Scores
Reading
5 Subtests; 9 Scores
Oral Language
2 Subtests; 7 Scores
Written Expression
4 Subtests; 9 Scores
Mathematics
5 Subtests; 5 Scores

30. Reading Subtests

31. Reading Subtests Early Reading Skills Word Reading Word Reading
Pseudoword
Decoding
Reading
Comprehension
Oral Reading Fluency
Word Reading
Pseudoword
Decoding
Reading
Comprehension

32. Reading Scores Early Reading Skills Word Reading Pseudoword
Decoding
Reading
Comprehension
Oral Reading Fluency
Word Reading Rate
Pseudoword
Decoding Rate
OR Accuracy
OR Rate

33. Written Expression Subtests

34. Written Expression Subtests
Spelling
Spelling
Alphabet Writing Fluency
Sentence Composition
Essay Composition
Written
Expression

35. Written Expression Scores
Spelling
Alphabet Writing
Fluency
Sentence
Composition
Essay
Sentence Combining
Sentence Building
Word Count
Theme Dev & Text Org
Grammar & Mechanics

36. Oral Language Subtests

37. Oral Language Subtests
Listening
Comprehension
Listening
Comprehension
Oral
Expression
Oral
Expression

38. Oral Expression Scores
Listening
Comprehension
Oral
Expression
Receptive Vocabulary
Oral Discourse
Comprehension
Expressive Vocabulary
Oral Word Fluency
Sentence Repetition

39. Mathematics Subtests

40. Math Subtests Numerical Numerical Operations Operations Math Math
Reasoning
Math
Problem
Solving
Math Fluency - Addition
Math Fluency - Subtraction
Math Fluency - Multiplication

41. Math Scores Numerical Operations Math Problem Solving
Math Fluency - Addition
Math Fluency - Subtraction
Math Fluency - Multiplication

42. Achievement Testing vs Diagnostic Skill Assessment
Achievement testing indicates overall level of performance in a very global manner
Diagnostic skills assessment identifies specific component skill strengths and weaknesses
Copyright 2007 George McCloskey, Ph.D.

43. Achievement Testing vs Diagnostic Skill Assessment
Achievement testing focuses on composite scores
Diagnostic skills assessment focuses on subtest and process scores
Copyright 2007 George McCloskey, Ph.D.

44. Specific Composite Indexes / Clinical Clusters Level
Interpretive Levels Framework
Global Composite
Level
Specific Composite Indexes / Clinical Clusters Level
Subtest Level
Item Level
Task Cognitive
Capacities
Level
Copyright 2007 George McCloskey, Ph.D.

45. Reading Subtests

46. Early Reading Skills
Item types originally included on WIAT-II Word Reading Subtest (Items 1-47):
Letter Names (Items 1-11)
Letter-Sound Relationship (Items 12, 13, 27-29)
Rhyming (Items 14-17)
Sound Awareness (Items 18-24)
Sound Blending (Items 25, 26)
Orthographic Awareness (Items 30-34)

47. Early Reading Skills Grades PK-3 34 Items (47 Items on WIAT-II)
All students start with Sample A and Item 1
Administer ALL subtest items
Use routinely for PK-1, for low functioning in grades 2 & 3
Total Raw Score to Standard Score

48. Word Reading Grades 1-12 75 Items (84 Items on WIAT-II)
All students start with Item 1
Discontinue after 4 items (7 on WIAT-II)
Time and Record number of items completed in first 30 seconds

49. Word Reading
Student are told to read words aloud but not to read as quickly as possible
Students can use their fingers but do not provide materials for place marking
Credit should be given for regional or dialectal pronunciations of words
Pronunciations must be fluent to receive credit. For dysfluent attempt, say “Say it all together.” If 2nd attempt not fluent, score 0.

50. Word Reading
Total Raw Score to Standard Score
Words Read in 30 seconds to Word Reading Speed Cumulative Percentage

51. Pseudoword Decoding Grades 1-12 52 Items (55 Items on WIAT-II)
Items revised to measure a broader range of symbol-sound relationships
All students start with Item 1
Discontinue after 4 items (7 on WIAT-II)
Time and Record number of items completed in first 30 seconds

52. Pseudoword Decoding
Student are told to decode words aloud but not to decode as quickly as possible
Students can use their fingers but do not provide materials for place marking
Credit should be given for regional or dialectal pronunciations of words
Pronunciations must be fluent to receive credit. For dysfluent attempt, say “Say it all together.” If 2nd attempt not fluent, score 0.

53. Pseudoword Decoding
Total Raw Score to Standard Score
Nonsense Words Decoded in 30 seconds to Pseudoword Decoding Speed Cumulative Percentage

54. Reading Comprehension
Grades 1-12
84 Items (140 Items on WIAT-II)
Pre-passage items replaced with a new lower level reading passage
All other passages retained from WIAT-II
Oral reading sentence items deleted
Supplemental scores dropped
Administered in item sets like WIAT-II

56. Reading Comprehension
Start administration with grade level item set; administer all items in the set
Can start one set lower if student is known to be a very poor reader; otherwise, use reverse rule
Can reverse only a maximum of 3 levels below grade level
Reverse Rule: less than 2 points earned on items from 1st passage

57. Reading Comprehension
Total Raw Score to Weighted Raw Score to Standard Score
Note: The Weighted Raw Score Table is reversed from WIAT-II; Weighted Scores in outside column; Raw scores in body of table

58. Reading Comprehension

59. Reading Comprehension
If the student performs poorly on lower item set
Probably means they have a weakness in comprehension
OR If the student performs well on lower item set
Probably means they have a weakness in word identification and/or decoding and/or vocabulary

60. Reading Comprehension
While Reading Comprehension Subtest Scores, in general, correlate highly between measures such as the WIAT-III, KTEA-II, and WJ-III, scores for individual students can vary greatly due to:
Differences in Output Demands (free response [WIAT-II, KTEA-II] vs cloze [WJ-III])
Differences in Processing Demands (e.g., literal vs inferential item types and passage length variations resulting in different demands for reasoning, reading speed, working memory, and executive functions)

61. Oral Reading Fluency Grades 1-12 Student reads two passages
Administer grade level passages
Can start one grade level lower if student is known to be a very poor reader; otherwise, use reverse rule
Reverse rule: If reading of 1st passage takes longer than the reverse rule time limit go back one level

62. Oral Reading Fluency Provide unknown words after 5 seconds
A comprehension question is asked after the reading; these questions are not scored formally; the items are used to cue the student to read at a level that engages comprehension
Student reads entire passage; record the total reading time per passage
Keep track of and record word addition errors and other word reading errors

63. Oral Reading Fluency 2. Record errors as student reads
Oral Reading Fluency Administration Steps:
1. Begin timing as student begins reading
2. Record errors as student reads
Addition Errors: Any word added
Other Errors: Words supplied after 5” of attempted reading of word (mark with G for “given”); mispronunciations, substitutions, omissions and transpositions

64. Oral Reading Fluency

66. Oral Reading Fluency
Oral Reading Fluency Administration Steps:
3. End timing as student finishes passage and record stop time
4. Repeat administration steps for 2nd passage
5. Transfer Completion Time, Addition Errors, Other Errors, and Word Count Totals to the ORF Passage Subtotal Raw Scores Table on Page 46

67. Oral Reading Fluency
Oral Reading Fluency Administration Steps:
6. Calculate Oral Reading Fluency Total Raw Score, Oral Reading Accuracy Total Raw Score, and Oral Reading Rate Total Raw Score
7. Use Total Raw Scores to find Weighted Raw Scores in Appendices A.2, A.3 and A.4
8. Convert Weighted Raw Scores to Standard Scores using Table B.1 or C.1

69. Written Expression Subtests

70. Alphabet Writing Fluency
Grades PK-3 Only
Student writes letters of the alphabet for 30”
Raw Score is number of legible letters produced in 30”
If all letters are made before 30” record completion time

71. Alphabet Writing Fluency
Scoring Criteria are in Appendix B.1
Scoring Criteria are extremely flexible in order to reduce scoring time and difficulty
Typically used for Grades PK-2, can be used for lower functioning 3rd graders

72. Score = 18

73. Spelling
Grades K-12
First 5 items are pre-spelling skills (12 items on WIAT-II)
63 Items (53 Items on WIAT-II)
Start at Grade Level Start Point
Can start 1 level below but give full credit if basal at Grade Level Start Point is met

74. Spelling
Basal: score of 1 on all of the first three items in Start Point Set
Reverse Rule: Incorrect on any of first 3 items administered; give items in reverse order until basal is met
Discontinue after 4 items (7 on WIAT-II)
Raw Score to Standard Score
Intra-item error analysis optional

75. Sentence Composition Grades 1-12
5 Sentence Combining Items (Most from WIAT-II) and 7 Sentence Building Items (“Write a sentence using the word ___”)
All students start with Sentence Combining Sample A and Items 1 and 2
Discontinue Sentence Combining if score of 0 on first 2 items

76. Sentence Composition
If at least 1 point is earned on first 2 items, administer ALL remaining Sentence Combining items
After completing Sentence Combining, ALL students take Sentence Building Sample A and Items 1 and 2
Discontinue Sentence Building if score of 0 on first 2 items

77. Sentence Composition
If at least 1 point is earned on first 2 item, administer ALL remaining Sentence Building items
Separate Raw Scores and Standard Scores for Sentence Combining and Sentence Building
Add SC and SB standard scores and use as Raw Score to obtain Sentence Composition Standard Score

78. Sentence Composition
Sentence Composition Scoring: Appendix B.2 provides Basic Rules of Written Grammar and Mechanics
Sentence Combining Scoring (Appendix B.3): Prerequisite Scoring Criteria
Does response include essential information?
Does response simply restate original sentences?
Does response have more than one sentence, run-on sentence or sentence fragment?

79. Sentence Composition
Sentence Combining: If a sentence does not meet all 3 Prerequisite Criteria, score the sentence 0
Sentence Combining: If a sentence does meet all 3 Prerequisite Criteria, use the additional scoring criteria to determine the raw score for each scoring criterion:
Semantics & Grammar
Mechanics
Extra Credit

80. Sentence Composition
Sentence Building Scoring (Appendix B.4): Prerequisite Scoring Criteria
Does response include the target word?
Is the response a fragmented sentence?
Is the target word use in a title or as the subject or object of the sentence?
Sentence Building: If a sentence does not meet all 3 Prerequisite Criteria, score the sentence 0

81. Sentence Composition
Sentence Building: If a sentence does meet all 3 Prerequisite Criteria, use the additional scoring criteria to determine the raw score for each scoring criterion:
Semantics & Grammar
Mechanics
The Scoring Workbook provides unscored and scored samples

82. Essay Composition Grades 3-12
Writing from a prompt; identical to the WIAT-II Paragraph sub-item (My favorite game is…)
All students write using same prompt
10 minutes maximum time
Scoring Criteria in Appendix B.5 and B.6

83. Essay Composition Essays are scored for: Word Count
Theme Development and Organization
Introduction (0-2)
Conclusion (0-2)
Paragraphs (0-5)
Transitions (0-5)
Reasons Why (0-3)
Elaborations (0-3)
Grammar and Mechanics

84. Essay Composition
The Scoring Workbook provides unscored and scored samples
The Scoring Assistant Includes an interactive scoring guide that can be used to complete the scoring process

85. Essay Composition
Raw Scores for Word Count, Theme Development & Text Organization (TDTO) and Grammar & Mechanics are converted into Standard Scores using B.1 or C.1
Word Count and TDTO Standard Scores are summed to derive the Essay Composition Raw Score to obtain the Essay Composition Standard Score in B.1 of C.1

86. Oral Language Subtests

87. Listening Comprehension
Grades PK-12
Receptive Vocabulary retained – 19 items (16 items on WIAT-II)
Oral Discourse Comprehension (27 items) replaces Sentence Comprehension format (10 items)
Expressive Vocabulary moved to Oral Expression Subtest

88. Listening Comprehension
ALL students start with Receptive Vocabulary (RV) Item 1
Discontinue RV after 4 consecutive scores of 0
All students go on to Oral Discourse Comprehension (ODC)
ODC administered best using the audio CD

89. Listening Comprehension
Grades PK-3 start with Item 1; Grades 4-12 start with Item 6
All items scored objectively 0 or 1
Apply Reverse Rule for Grades 4-12, move backward until 3 consecutive scores of 1 are obtained
Discontinue ODC after 4 consecutive scores of 0

90. Listening Comprehension
Raw Scores for RV and ODC are converted into Standard Scores for each using B.1 or C.1
RV and ODC Standard Scores are summed to derive the Listening Comprehension Raw Score to obtain the Listening Comprehension Standard Score in B.1 of C.1

91. Oral Expression Grades PK-12
Oral Word Fluency Expanded into a sub-area (2 items instead of 1)
Sentence Repetition expanded to 15 items (9 items on WIAT-II)
Expressive Vocabulary expanded to 17 items and moved to OE from LC

92. Oral Expression
ALL students start with Expressive Vocabulary (EV) Item 1
Discontinue EV after 4 consecutive scores of 0
ALL students go on to Oral Word Fluency (OWF) and take both items
ALL students go on to Sentence Repetition (SR) and start with Sample A and Item 1

93. Oral Expression Discontinue SR after 4 consecutive scores of 0
Raw Scores for EV and OWF and SR are converted into Standard Scores for each using B.1 or C.1
EV and OWF and SR Standard Scores are summed to derive the Oral Expression Raw Score to obtain the Oral Expression Standard Score in B.1 of C.1

94. Mathematics Subtests

95. Math Problem Solving Grades PK-12 Name changed from Math Reasoning
Items increased to 72 (67 items on the WIAT-II)
Pencil and paper are permitted, but calculators are not

96. Math Problem Solving Start points vary based on Grade Level
Basal: score of 1 on first three items in Start Point Set
Reverse Rule: Incorrect on any of first 3 items administered; give items in reverse order until basal is met.
Discontinue after 4 items (6 on WIAT-II)
Raw Score to Standard Score

97. Numerical Operations Grades K-12
Items increased to 61 (54 items on the WIAT-II)
Starts with 7 Pre-calculation concept items for Grades K-1
Start points vary based on Grade Level
Items completed in Response Booklet

98. Numerical Operations
Basal: score of 1 on first three items in Start Point Set
Reverse Rule: Incorrect on any of first 3 items administered; give items in reverse order until basal is met.
Discontinue after 4 items (6 on WIAT-II)
Raw Score to Standard Score

99. Math Fluency
Addition and Subtraction Grades ; Multiplication Grades 3-12
Items completed in Response Booklet
Administer only 1 item set of each Fluency Subtest; 60 second time limit for all item sets

100. Referenced Resources Berninger, V. & Richards, T. (2003).
Brain Literacy for Educators and Psychologists. Academic Press
Marzano, Pickering, & Pollock (2001). Classroom Instruction that Works: Research-based Strategies for Improving Student Achievement. ASCD