Woodcock Johnson Tests of Achievement - III Summer 2010 Presentation By WSSD School Psychologists

Maintaining Standardization and Optimal Testing Conditions Administer an entire subtest in one sitting (avoid breaks in the middle of a subtest) If timed, the time has to be exact Minimize distractions in the room Maintain contact with the student as they complete the subtests Cannot assist or give pointers Keep to language of the manual for administration Be familiar with directions for subtest administration, (including basals and ceilings)

Specific Learning Disability Areas Basic Reading Skills Reading Fluency Skills Reading Comprehension Mathematics Problem-Solving Mathematics Calculation Written Expression Listening Comprehension (Rare – see school psychologist about subtests to administer) Oral Expression (Rare – see school psychologist about subtests to administer)

Subtests to Administer If SLD in… any area of reading, administer all reading subtests, (subtests 1, 2, 9, 13, & 17) any area of math, administer all 4 math subtests, (subtests 5, 6, 10, & 18) written expression, administer both writing subtests, (subtests 8 & 11) Administer all subtests (listed above) for all other disability categories, (other health impairment, emotional disturbance, mental retardation, autism if testable, etc.)

Subtests to Administer Feel free to administer any other subtests within that student’s identified area of disability that you feel would provide you with important information, (i.e. spelling, grammar, math fluency). If data supports deficits in other subject areas besides the identified area of disability, administer subtests within that subject. If data does not support deficits in other subject areas, DO NOT administer other subtests.

Subtests to Administer – Reading Curricular Area Standard Battery Subtest SLD Classification Basic Reading Skills 1: Letter-Word Identification 13: Word Attack Reading Fluency 2: Reading Fluency (*See slide 10) Reading Fluency skills Reading Comprehension 9: Passage Comprehension 17: Reading Vocabulary Reading Comprehension Skills

Subtests to Administer – Math Curricular Area Standard Battery Subtest SLD Classification Math Calculation Skills 5: Calculation 6: Math Fluency Math Reasoning 10: Applied Problems 18: Quantitative Concepts Math Problem-Solving

Subtests to Administer – Writing Curricular Area Standard Battery Subtest SLD Classification Written Expression 8: Writing Fluency 11: Writing Samples Written Expression Skills

Description of Subtests – Basic Reading Skills Basic Reading Skills (Tests 1 and 13) Test 1: Letter- Word Identification measures the skill in identification of words and pronouncing words correctly. It includes the ability to identify sight vocabulary and to apply phonic and structural analysis skills. Test 13: Word Attack measures skills in applying phonic and structural analysis skills to the pronunciation of unfamiliar printed words; (also referred to as pseudoword decoding on other assessments.

Description of Subtests – Reading Fluency Reading Fluency (Test 2) Test 2: Reading Fluency includes the ability to read printed statements rapidly and respond to the statement in a true or false (yes or no) manner. *Note: Problem with reading fluency subtest – this subtest has a comprehension component that may impact on fluency scores *Note: Use AIMSWeb/progress monitoring data with the reading fluency subtest to support progress/need for programming, etc.

Description of Subtests – Reading Comprehension Reading Comprehension (Tests 9 and 17) Test 9: Passage Comprehension includes comprehension of single-word stimuli and short passages. Test 17: Reading Vocabulary measures skill in reading words and supplying appropriate meaning to those words.

Description of Subtests – Mathematics Calculation Mathematics Calculation (Tests 5 and 6) Test 5: Math Calculation Skills includes computational skills and automaticitity with basic math facts. The initial items require writing single numbers. The remaining items require the performance of addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and combinations of these basic operations, as well as some geometric, trigonometric, logarithmic, and calculus operations. Test 6: Math Fluency measures the ability to solve simple addition, subtraction, and multiplication facts quickly.

Description of Subtests – Mathematics Reasoning Mathematics Reasoning (Tests 10 and 18) Test 10: Applied Problems provides a measure of mathematical knowledge and reasoning. It includes the ability to analyze and solve practical mathematics problems. Test 18: Quantitative Concepts measures knowledge of mathematical concepts, symbols, and vocabulary.

Description of Subtests – Written Expression Written Expression (Tests 8 and 11) Test 8: Writing Fluency measures skills in formulating and writing simple sentences quickly. Each sentence must relate to a give stimulus picture paired with a set of 3 words. Test 11: Writing Samples measures skills in writing meaningful responses to a variety of demands. Written sentences are produced and evaluated with respect to the quality of expression. Item difficulty increases by increasing passage length, level of vocabulary, grammatical complexities, and level of concept abstraction.

Tips: Written Expression Subtests ALWAYS use the manual while scoring. For the Writing Samples Subtest: The number of points is based on the items administered in a single block. Errors in spelling are not penalized, unless specified for that item in the manual. Total scores that result in fractions of one half are rounded to the nearest even number, (example: 15.5 rounds to 16 and 16.5 also rounds to 16).

Questions Do you have access to the manual when scoring the written expression subtests? Do basal and ceiling rules apply for the Writing Samples subtest?

Interpretation of Scores – Age or Grade Norms? Use AGE LEVEL norms Grade level norms should be used if a student has failed/been retained in a grade If grade level norms have been used, include a statement in the report such as: “Because student was retained in/failed grade _, he/she is older than a typical student of that grade and has not received instruction commensurate with same age peers. Therefore, grade based norms were used in the calculation of standard scores and percentile ranks.”

Interpretation of Scores – Bell Curve Standard Score Range Percentile Rank Range WJ III Classification 131 and Above 98 to 99.9 Very Superior 121 to 130 92 to 97 Superior 111 to 120 76 to 91 High Average 90 to 110 25 to 75 Average 80 to 89 9 to 24 Low Average 70 to 79 3 to 8 Low 69 and Below 0.1 to 2 Very Low

Interpretation of Scores – Standard Scores Standard scores are based on a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15. Standard scores sometimes present a disadvantage to inexperienced users and others, such as parents and the student, because the scores lack objective meaning. Consequently, the interpretation of a standard score is often explained using its equivalent percentile rank.

Interpretation of Scores – Percentile Ranks A percentile rank describes performance on a scale from 1 to 99 relative to the performance of some segment of the norming sample that is at a specific age or grade level. The subject’s percentile rank indicates the percentage of subjects in the selected segment of the norming sample who had scores the same or lower than the subject’s score. Percentile ranks are particularly useful for describing a person’s relative standing in the population.

Question What if a student maintains the same standard score or percentile rank for many years? What does this say about the student’s progress?

Why We Do NOT Report Age and Grade Equivalents Scores These scores compare students at various ages/grades based on the number of items answered correctly, not based on the skills answers correctly. For example, a grade-equivalent of 4:1 indicates that the student answered the same number of items correctly as a typical student in the first month of 4th grade. It does NOT provide an instructional level.

Why We Do NOT Report Age and Grade Equivalents Scores Within an age/grade-equivalent distribution of scores, the scores may not represent equal units. The difference between 2nd and 3rd grade-equivalent scores may not be the same as the difference between 11th and 12th grade-equivalent scores Many grade-equivalents are obtained by means of interpolation and extrapolation. Consequently, the scores may not actually have been obtained by children.

Why We Do NOT Report Age and Grade Equivalents Scores Grade-equivalents encourage comparison with inappropriate groups. For example, a second grader who obtains a grade equivalent of 4.1 in math should not be said to be functioning like a 4th grader at the beginning of the school year; this is the wrong comparison group Grade-equivalents exaggerate small differences in performance – a score slightly below the median may result in grade level equivalent one or two years below grade level.

Sample RR Final RR drafts should be submitted to your school psychologist prior to RR meetings Any change in disability category MUST be approved by the school psychologist before presenting the RR to the parents

Questions ?