Essentials of KTEA-3 and WIAT-III Assessment

Kristina C. Breaux, Elizabeth O. Lichtenberger

• Publisher: Wiley
• Year: 2016
• ISBN:
  9781119076834
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Psychology
• Subtopic: Research & Methodology in Psychology
• Index: Psychology

Written by expert authors Kristina Breaux and Elizabeth Lichtenberger, Essentials of KTEA-3 and WIAT-III Assessment offers up-to-date, comprehensive, step-by-step instruction in the accurate and effective use of the newest editions of the Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement (KTEA-3) Comprehensive Form, KTEA-3 Brief Form, and the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test (WIAT-III). Designed to provide in-depth information in an easy to use reference format, the book provides guidelines and tips for administration, scoring, and interpretation that go beyond the information provided in the test manuals. A complete guide is included for digital administration and scoring using Q-interactive, automated scoring using Q-global, and hand scoring.

Essentials of KTEA-3 and WIAT-III Assessment makes score interpretation easier by explaining what each score measures and the implications of a high or low score. Learn how to increase the diagnostic utility of the KTEA-3 and WIAT-III by taking full advantage of their capabilities for error analysis, qualitative observations, and progress monitoring, and by pairing the results with measures of cognitive ability such as the WISC-V and KABC-II. Clinicians will find a helpful discussion of how these tests may be interpreted using either a CHC or neuropsychological approach to assessment. Case studies illustrate the use of these tests to respond to various referral concerns. Annotations within each case report provide a window into the mind of the examiner throughout the assessment process.

This book provides a depth and breadth of understanding that is appropriate for all assessment professionals, regardless of their level of training or experience. Extensive illustrations, call-out boxes, and "Test Yourself" questions help students and clinicians quickly absorb the information they need. Essentials of KTEA-3 and WIAT-III Assessment is the clear, focused guide to using these tests to their fullest potential.

Chapter One
OVERVIEW

Over the past few years, there have been many changes affecting those who administer standardized achievement tests. New individually administered tests of achievement have been developed, older instruments have been revised or renormed, and new electronic methods of test administration have been developed. The academic assessment of individuals from preschool to post–high school has increased over the past years due to requirements set forth by states for determining eligibility for services for learning disabilities. Individual achievement tests were once primarily norm-based comparisons with peers but now serve the purpose of analyzing academic strengths and weaknesses via comparisons with conormed or linked individual tests of ability. In addition, the focus of academic assessment has been broadened to include not only reading decoding, spelling, and arithmetic but also areas such as reading comprehension, arithmetic reasoning, arithmetic computation, listening comprehension, oral expression, and written expression (Smith, 2001).

These changes in the field of individual academic assessment have led professionals to search for resources that would help them remain current on the most recent instruments. Resources covering topics such as how to administer, score, and interpret frequently used tests of achievement and on how to apply these tests' data in clinical situations need to be frequently updated. Thus, in 2001, Douglas K. Smith published a book in the Essentials series titled Essentials of Individual Achievement Assessment, which devoted chapters to four widely used individually administered tests of achievement.¹ Smith's book was the inspiration for writing this book, which focuses on the most recent editions of two of the instruments written about in Essentials of Individual Achievement Assessment: the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test (WIAT) and the Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement (KTEA). Because both of these instruments are widely used achievement tests in school psychology and related fields, the third editions of the WIAT and KTEA are deserving of a complete up-to-date book devoted to their administration, scoring, interpretation, and clinical applications. Essentials of KTEA-3 and WIAT-III Assessment provides that up-to-date information and includes rich information beyond what is available in the tests' manuals. Digital administration and scoring through the Q-interactive system is the focus of a chapter designed to benefit new, novice, and even experienced Q-interactive users. An entire chapter is devoted to illustrative case reports to exemplify how the results of the KTEA-3 and WIAT-III can be integrated with an entire battery of tests to yield a thorough understanding of a student's academic functioning. In a chapter devoted to clinical applications of the tests, the following topics are discussed: the integration of the KTEA-3 and WIAT-III with tests of cognitive ability, focusing on the conceptual and theoretical links between tests, and the assessment of special populations, including specific learning disabilities (under IDEA 2004) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, or hearing impairments. Expanding on the topic of learning disabilities, the identification of common reading disability subtypes using the KTEA-3 and WIAT-III is discussed. Gender differences in writing are also addressed. Key information on using the WIAT-III and KTEA-3 to monitor a student's response to intervention further enriches the chapter on clinical applications.

PURPOSES AND USES OF ACHIEVEMENT TESTS

The WIAT-III and KTEA-3 are used for many reasons, including diagnosing achievement, identifying processes, analyzing errors, making placement decisions and planning programs, measuring academic progress, evaluating interventions or programs, and conducting research. Some pertinent applications of these tests are described next.

Diagnosing Achievement

The WIAT-III and KTEA-3 provide the following types of information for diagnosing academic achievement:

• A general estimate of academic achievement, which may include the WIAT-III Total Achievement composite, the KTEA-3 (Comprehensive or Brief Form) Academic Skills Battery composite, or the Brief Achievement composite from the KTEA-3 Brief.
• An analysis of a student's academic strengths and weaknesses in reading, mathematics, spelling, written expression, and oral language (listening and speaking). This assessment data may be used as part of a comprehensive assessment for identifying a learning disability.
• Investigation of related factors that may affect academic achievement, such as Phonological Awareness, Naming Facility (RAN), and Associational Fluency on the KTEA-3 and Early Reading Skills (includes items for assessing phonological awareness), Oral Word Fluency, Expressive Vocabulary, and Receptive Vocabulary on the WIAT-III.

Identifying Processes

Pairwise subtest comparisons on both the WIAT-III and KTEA-3 allow examiners to better understand how students comprehend language (Reading Comprehension versus Listening Comprehension) and express their ideas (Written Expression versus Oral Expression).

Analyzing Errors

The KTEA-3 provides a detailed quantitative summary of the types or patterns of errors a student makes on 10 of the 19 KTEA-3 subtests, including Letter & Word Recognition, Nonsense Word Decoding, Phonological Processing, Spelling, Reading Comprehension, Listening Comprehension, Written Expression, Oral Expression, Math Concepts & Applications, and Math Computation. Tracking error patterns can help examiners plan appropriate remedial instruction specifically targeting the difficulties that a student displays.

The WIAT-III provides skills analysis capabilities that also yield a detailed quantitative summary of the types of errors a student makes on seven of the 16 subtests. This information helps examiners evaluate a student's error patterns and skill strengths and weaknesses. Each subtest includes sets of items that measure a specific skill or set of skills. Analyzing the student's errors through the skills analysis yields information that can then be used in the design of an instructional plan or specific intervention for a student.

The KTEA-3 and WIAT-III score reports accessible through Q-global or Q-interactive provide detailed error analysis assessment data to summarize the skills a student needs to be taught and provide recommendations for teaching those skills. In addition, the new Q-global Intervention Guide for LD Subtypes takes into account the student's pattern of performance across cognitive, language, and achievement areas to identify potential learning disability subtypes and make recommendations about how to tailor an intervention approach. The recommendations from this Intervention Guide consider a student's areas of relative strength when remediating relative weaknesses.

Making Placement Decisions and Planning Programs

The WIAT-III and KTEA-3 norm-referenced scores, along with the error analysis information, indicate an examinee's approximate instructional level. These results can inform decisions regarding appropriate educational placement as well as appropriate accommodations or curricular adjustments for new student admissions or transfers from other educational settings. The information can also assist in the development of an individualized education program (IEP) based on a student's needs. For adolescents and adults, the results can help inform decisions regarding general equivalency diploma (GED) preparation, appropriate vocational training, or job placement decisions.

Measuring Academic Progress

As a general guideline, wait about 8 months to 1 year before readministering the same form of an achievement test. For the WIAT-III, academic progress can be measured by retesting after enough time has passed between administrations, taking into consideration any potential practice ...