Educational Assessment of Children

1. Educational Assessment of Children Melissa Stern PSY 4930 October 3, 2006

2. Academic Achievement • Skills children learn through direct intervention or instruction • Educational assessment or achievement is a method of testing these skills • Usually includes areas such as: • Reading • Spelling • Writing • Math • Vocabulary

3. Why is it important to measure achievement?? We conceptualize specific learning disabilities as a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using written or spoken language which can manifest in an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell or complete mathematical calculations. Achievement tests capture these manifestations • Specific learning disabilities are defined as: • a severe discrepancy between achievement and intellectual ability PL 94-142

4. What is a “severe” discrepancy? • A constant 2-year discrepancy between grade level and achievement • A graduated formulation of underachievement • 1 year for 1st and 2nd grade • 1.5 years for 3rd and 4th grade • 2 years for 5th-8th grade • 3 years for 9th-12th grade

5. Severe Discrepancy • A discrepancy of at least 1 SD between standard scores for IQ and achievement • This is one of the most common methods of testing for a learning disability • -bias in this method of discrepancy testing

6. Types of Achievement Tests • Screening tests • Brief • One subtest for each subject area • Useful to decide whether comprehensive tests are necessary • Examples: Wide Range Achievement Test-3 Wechsler Individual Achievement Test-Screener

7. Types of Achievement Tests • Comprehensive tests • Assess three or more subjects taught in school • At least 2 subtests from each area • Assess lower and higher cognitive skills in each area

8. Examples of Achievement Areas

9. Single-subject vs. Multiple-subject Tests • Single-subject tests include several subtests to measure different skills within one domain • Woodcock Reading Mastery Tests-Revised • Multiple-subject tests provide info on at least 3 basic school subjects • Psychologists generally use these • Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Achievement • Wechsler Individual Achievement Test • Better to begin with multiple subjects tests and move to single-subject

10. Wechsler Individual Achievement Test (WIAT) • For children 5-19 years of age • Specifically created to be used in conjunction with the WISC • 30-60 minutes to administer • 8 subtests: • Basic reading • Reading comprehension • Math reasoning • Numerical Operations • Listening Comprehension • Oral Expression • Spelling • Written Expression

11. WIAT: Pros and Cons • Pros—norms based on same sample on which WISC was normed • Cons--Some subjective scoring on four of the subtests

12. Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Achievement • For ages 2-90 years • 22 tests • 12 in standard battery • Word attack is in the extended battery and is commonly given (phonetic analysis) • Standardized for use with WJ III-COG • Long Administration time (several hours depending on how much of the extended battery is included)

13. A final note on intellectual and educational assessment • IQ and achievement scores are necessary for the diagnosis of a learning disability • Administering these tests, along with an interview can be expensive and time consuming • 4-5 hours • $1,000+