Woodcock Johnson Tests of Achievement IV Fall

Woodcock Johnson Tests of Achievement – IV Fall 2015 WSSD School Psychologists 1

Maintaining Standardization and Optimal Testing Conditions n Administer an entire subtest in one sitting (avoid n n n n breaks in the middle of a subtest) One on one administration 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) 2

Administrator Requirements n Bachelor’s degree in educational field (e. g. education, psychology, speech therapy, occupational therapy, counseling, etc). n Specific undergraduate level course in one or more of the following to include ethical administration, scoring, and interpretation…(see next slide) 3

Administration Requirements n Intelligence/cognitive assessment n Basic tests and measurement n Speech, hearing, and language assessment n Educational diagnostics or equivalent testing course n Or, Certification by or full active professional membership in a professional organization (ASHA, AOTA, APA, AERA, ACA, AMA, NASP) that requires training and experience in a relevant area of assessment. 4

Specific Learning Disability Areas IDEA n n n n Basic Reading Skills Reading Fluency Skills Reading Comprehension Mathematics Problem-Solving Mathematics Calculation Written Expression Listening Comprehension Oral Expression 5

Subtests to Administer n If SLD in…. any area of reading, administer all reading subtests, (subtests 1, 4, 7, 8, 9 & 12) n any area of math, administer all math subtests, (subtests 2, 5, 10 & 13) n written expression, administer writing subtests, (subtests 6 & 11) n Administer all subtests (listed above) for all other disability categories, (emotional disturbance, intellectual disability, autism if testable, etc. ) n 6

Subtests to Administer n 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. editing, math facts fluency). n If data supports deficits in other subject areas besides the identified area of disability, administer subtests within that subject. n If data does not support deficits in other subject areas, DO NOT administer other subtests. 7

Subtests to Administer – Reading Curricular Area Standard Battery Subtest SLD Classification Basic Reading Skills 1: Letter-Word Identification 7: Word Attack Basic Reading Skills Reading Fluency 8: Oral Reading 9: Sentence Reading Fluency skills Reading 4: Passage Comprehension 12: Reading Recall Reading Comprehension 8 Skills

Subtests to Administer – Math Curricular Area Standard Battery Subtest SLD Classification Math Calculation Skills 5: Calculation 10: Math Facts Fluency Math Calculation Skills Mathematics Problem. Solving 2: Applied Problems 13: Number Matrices Mathematics Problem. Solving 9

Subtests to Administer – Writing Curricular Area Standard Battery Subtest SLD Classification Written Expression 6: Writing Samples 11: Sentence Writing Fluency Written Expression Skills 10

Description of Subtests – Basic Reading Skills n Basic Reading Skills (Tests 1 and 7) n 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. n Test 7: 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). 11

Description of Subtests – Reading Fluency n Reading Fluency (Tests 8 & 9) n Test 8: Oral Reading measures story reading accuracy. The task involves reading aloud sentences that gradually increase in difficulty and is scored for both accuracy and fluency of expression. n Test 9: Sentence Reading Fluency measures reading rate, requiring both reading-writing and cognitive processing speed abilities. The task involves reading simple sentences silently and quickly and respond to the statement in a true or false (yes or no) manner. 12

Sentence Reading Fluency n *Note: Problem with sentence reading fluency subtest – this subtest has a comprehension component that may impact on fluency scores n *Note: Use AIMSWeb/progress monitoring data with the reading fluency subtest to support progress/need for programming, etc. 13

Description of Subtests – Reading Comprehension n Reading Comprehension (Tests 4 and 12) n Test 4: Passage Comprehension includes comprehension of single-word stimuli and short passages. Identifies the ability to identify a missing word in text. n Test 12: Reading Recall measures skill in reading comprehension and meaningful memory. The individual reads a short story silently and then retells as much of the story as they can recall. 14

Description of Subtests – Mathematics Calculation n Mathematics Calculation (Tests 5 and 10) n Test 5: Calculation measures the ability to perform mathematical computations. 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. n Test 10: Math Facts Fluency measures the ability to solve simple addition, subtraction, and multiplication facts quickly. 15

Description of Subtests – Math Problem Solving n Math Problem Solving (Tests 2 and 13) n Test 2: Applied Problems provides a measure of mathematical knowledge and reasoning. It includes the ability to analyze and solve practical mathematics problems. n Test 13: Number Matrices measures quantitative reasoning and fluid reasoning abilities. The individual must identify the missing number in a matrix. Note general timeline for test items. 16

Description of Subtests – Written Expression n Written Expression (Tests 6 and 11) n Test 6: Writing Samples measures skills in writing meaningful n Test 11: Sentence 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. The words gradually require the formulation of more complex sentence structure. 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, and the sophistication of content. The individual is not penalized for errors in spelling or punctuation. Note: USE THE MANUAL FOR SCORING 17

Tips: Writing Samples Subtest - 6 n ALWAYS USE THE MANUAL TO SCORE. n Page 129 – Appendix B in Examiner’s Manual. n The Raw Score for Writing Samples is based on one of 5 blocks of items, even if more items are administered. The examiner must ensure that the block of items used is the best estimate of the individual’s skill. 18

Interpretation of Scores – Age or Grade Norms? n Use AGE LEVEL norms n Grade level norms should be used if a student has failed/been retained in a grade n 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. ” 19

Interpretation of Scores – Bell Curve Standard Score Range 131 and Above Percentile Rank Range 98 to 99. 9 WJ –IV Classification 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 20

Interpretation of Scores – Standard Scores n Standard scores are based on a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15. n Standard scores sometimes present a disadvantage to inexperienced users and others, such as parents and the student, because the scores lack objective meaning. n Consequently, the interpretation of a standard score is often explained using its equivalent percentile rank. 21

Interpretation of Scores – Percentile Ranks n 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. n 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. n Percentile ranks are particularly useful for describing a person’s relative standing in the population. 22

Question n What if a student maintains the same standard score or percentile rank for many years? What does this say about the student’s progress? n Is your building aide qualified to administer this assessment? 23

Age and Grade Equivalents – We Do NOT Report These Scores n These scores compare students at various ages/grades based on the number of items answered correctly, not based on the skills answers correctly. n 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 4 th grade. It does NOT provide an instructional level. 24

Age and Grade Equivalents – We do NOT Report These Scores n Within an age/grade-equivalent distribution of scores, the scores may not represent equal units. The difference between 2 nd and 3 rd grade-equivalent scores may not be the same as the difference between 11 th and 12 th grade -equivalent scores n Many grade-equivalents are obtained by means of interpolation and extrapolation. Consequently, the scores may not actually have been obtained by children. 25

Age and Grade Equivalents – We Do NOT Report These Scores n 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 4 th grader at the beginning of the school year; this is the wrong comparison group n 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. 26

Reevaluation Reports n Final RR drafts should be submitted to your school psychologist prior to RR meetings (the goal is 3 days prior which allows for time to make corrections) n Any change in disability category MUST be approved by the school psychologist before presenting the RR to the parents 27

WJ-IV Scoring n Once Trained: You will receive and e-mail from RPC_Customer_Service@hmhco. com. n Your username is first initial, last name. You will need to set your own password. n Accessible for free with a paper record form purchase, the WJ Online Scoring and Reporting System (WJ OSRS) combines the best features of WJ Compuscore® with all the advantages of a web-based platform, including: 28

Scoring the WJ-IV n Secure, 24/7 access from any computer with an n n n Internet connection Accurate and reliable results delivered in real time through robust reports 90 days to edit committed test records 14 days to access a produced report after committed Deletion and restoration of test records Scoring is not unlimited – you may score 1 student for every 1 test record Contact Cathy Baum for Test Records (forms) 29 Do not photocopy test records (this is illegal)

Minimum System Requirements for On-Line Scoring Operating System Web Browser Other Required Software Windows® 8 Internet Explorer® 10 or higher Firefox® 21 or higher Google Chrome™ 27 or higher Windows 7 Internet Explorer® 9 or higher Adobe® Reader Firefox® 21 or 10 or higher Google Chrome™ 27 or higher Apple™ OS X 10. 7 Safari™ 5. 0 or higher Firefox® 21 or higher Apple™ OS X 10. 8 Additional Requirements Safari™ 6. 0 or higher Firefox® 21 *Processor: 1 GHz Pentium® dual core or higher *Memory: 1 GB RAM or higher *1024 x 768 screen resolution For optimal performance: *Processor: 2 GHz Pentium dual core or higher *Memory: 2 GB RAM or higher *1366 x 768 screen resolution 30

Module 1 - Video n Logging in and Getting Started – 7 minutes n Access through Resources on wjscore. com n Password Setup n Password Retrieval n Basic Dashboard Functions n Creating an Examinee n Organizing Caseload File 31

Module 2 - Video n On-Line Scoring and Reporting – 8 minutes n Access through Resources on wjscore. com n Entering Scores n Creating a Report 32