PSYCHOEDUCATIONAL REPORT WIAT-III TOURO COLLEGE JESSICA FERRARO

PSYCHOEDUCATIONAL REPORT WIAT-III TOURO COLLEGE JESSICA FERRARO

Demographic Data: Name: Loren Gender: Female Date of Birth: 07/20/1996 Date of Testing: 04/03/2011 Age: 14 years 8 months School: High School Grade: 9 th Test Language: English Examiner: Jessica Ferraro Supervisor: Giuseppe Costantino, Ph D. Reason for Referral: Upon request to her mother, Loren volunteered to participate in a psychoeducational assessment for the purpose of allowing the examiner to practice administration, scoring, and interpretation of the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test- Third Edition (WIAT-III). The results of this practice assessment are confidential, and will not be shared with the examinee or her parents. Background Information: At the time of testing Loren was a 14.8 year-old 9 th grader, attending high school. Her native and only language was English and she was born on July 20, 1996. After a normal pregnancy, Loren reached all developmental milestones within average age limits, and her mother reported Loren had a typical medical history. She lived with both parents and her 23 year-old sister Katie, whom she claimed to have a good relationship with. Loren s mother worked as a teacher at Farmingdale State University and her father worked as a Nurse in a local hospital. Loren aspires to go away to college for mathematics, which is the subject in school she claimed to enjoy most. During her spare time, Loren said she spends a large amount of time with her family because she enjoys doing outdoor activities with them such as bike riding and roller blading. Loren showed me her most recent report card, which consisted of mostly A s and some B+ s. She also claimed to have many friends at school, both male and female, with whom she gets along and goes to the mall with often. Loren reported that she likes to spend time with her friends and family, and enjoys going to school. Behavioral Observations: During test administration, Loren appeared to be well groomed and of average height and weight. She appeared to be in a happy mood and to have a healthy well-being on the morning of testing, and she did not wear hearing aids or glasses. She wrote with her right hand, and grasped the writing instrument with a tripod grasp. Loren maintained appropriate eye contact for the duration of testing, and did not exhibit unusual behaviors, verbalizations, or hyperactivity during the examination process. Page 2

Loren maintained attention throughout the test administration, and appeared to concentrate on all test items. She was not distracted and remained on-task for the duration of the administration, with the exception of one short break. Loren had a positive attitude toward testing, and appeared to be confident. This was not our first time meeting, so a good rapport had already been established and was well maintained. Loren was not eager to speak, nor did she seem overly introverted or shy. She attempted test items she did not know the answers to right away, and tried to work out the problems. She did not appear to have different reactions to success or failure, and appeared content with easy and difficult tasks. She was motivated and interested in answering questions correctly, but did not spend excessive amounts of time on items she could not figure out. Test Administered: Results: Wechsler Individual Achievement Test- Third Edition (WIAT-III) The Total Achievement score as measured by the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test- Third Edition (WIAT-III), measured Loren s overall academic functioning. She obtained a Total Achievement standard score of 109, which was considered to be in the Average Range, and as good as or better than 73% of children her age within the standardization sample (73 rd percentile). There is a probability that if retested, Loren s Total Achievement would be between 105 and 113. There was minimal variability among the composites that made up Loren s Total Achievement namely, Oral Language, Total Reading, Basic Reading, Reading Comprehension and Fluency, Written Expression, Mathematics, and Math Fluency, indicating that her Total Achievement can be interpreted meaningfully. Loren s Total Achievement was a valid and reliable estimate of her general academic functioning. Oral Language Oral Language 111 (102-120) 77 Average Listening Comprehension 116 (104-128) 86 12.1 Above Average Oral Expression 103 (93-113) 58 9.9 Average The Oral Language composite measured Loren s oral language abilities and was made up of two subtests; Listening Comprehension and Oral Expression. She obtained an Oral Language standard score of 111, which was within the Average Range. Her Oral Language abilities were ranked at the 77 th percentile, indicating that she scored as well as or better than 77% of other children the same age. Page 3

The Listening Comprehension subtest measured Loren s ability to attend to and retain information presented orally, as well as her receptive vocabulary when presented with pictures. She obtained a Listening Comprehension standard score of 116, which was within the Above Average Range, and at the 86 th percentile when compared with children the same age. Listening Comprehension is comprised of two sub-sections namely, Receptive Vocabulary and Oral Discourse Comprehension. Loren s knowledge of vocabulary and ability to recall terms when presented with pictures was measured by the Receptive Vocabulary sub-section. She obtained a standard score of 108, which was ranked at the 70 th percentile and within the Average Range. The Oral Discourse Comprehension sub-section assessed her ability to attend to orally presented information and answer questions. On this sub-section her standard score was 118, which was within the Above Average Range, and at the 88 th percentile. The Oral Expression subtest was used to assess Loren s knowledge of vocabulary, word retrieval, and her ability to exactly repeat sentences. She received a standard score of 103, which was within the Average Range and ranked at the 58 th percentile when compared against children the same age. The Oral Expression subtest was comprised of three sub-sections namely, Expressive Vocabulary, Oral Word Fluency, and Sentence Repetition. Loren s ability to recall terms when presented with a definition was assessed with the Expressive Vocabulary subsection, where she received a standard score of 108, which was ranked at the 70 th percentile, and within the Average Range. The Oral Word Fluency subtest measured Loren s categorical rapid recall. She received a standard score of 112, which was at the 79 th percentile, and within the Average Range. On a subtest the assessed her ability to repeat exactly, sentences that were presented to her orally; her standard score was 88, which was within the Average Range, and at the 21 st percentile (Sentence Repetition). Total Reading Total Reading 101 (96-106) 53 Average Basic Reading 104 (100-108) 61 Average Word Reading 107 (102-112) 68 12.7 Average Pseudoword Decoding 103 (98-108) 58 10.2 Average Reading Comprehension & Fluency 99 (91-107) 47 Average Reading Comprehension 101 (89-113) 53 10.0 Average Oral Reading Fluency 98 (91-105) 45 8.2 Average Total Reading assessed Loren s reading abilities, and was made up of two composites; Basic Reading and Reading Comprehension and Fluency. She obtained a Total Reading standard score of 101, which was within the Average Range. Her Total Reading was ranked at Page 4

the 53 rd percentile, indicating that she scored as well as or better than 53% of other children the same age. The Basic Reading composite measured Loren s ability to read real and made up words, and was comprised of two subtests; Word Reading and Pseudoword Decoding. She obtained a Basic Reading standard score of 104, which was ranked at the 61 st percentile, and within the Average Range. On the Word Reading subtest that assessed how well she can recognize and read words, she was within the Average Range with a standard score of 107, which was at the 68 th percentile. She was also within the Average Range with a standard score of 103 on the Pseudoword Decoding subtest, which required Loren to read, made up words. On this subtest she was ranked at the 58 th percentile. The Reading Comprehension and Fluency composite measured Loren s accuracy with reading, her ability to answer questions based on readings, and was made up of two subtests; Reading Comprehension and Oral Reading Fluency. Reading Comprehension measured her ability to read under timed conditions, comprehend, and then answer questions based on those readings. She obtained a standard score of 101, which was within the Average Range, and at the 53 rd percentile. On the Oral Reading Fluency subtest Loren s standard score was 98, which was at the 45 th percentile, and within the Average Range. This subtest assessed her accuracy and fluency of oral reading, while under timed conditions. Written Expression Written Expression 118 (111-125) 88 Above Average Sentence Composition 106 (95-117) 66 12.3 Average Spelling 118 (113-123) 88 >12.9 Above Average Essay Composition 118 (107-129) 88 12.8 Above Average The Written Expression composite measured Loren s ability to accurately spell, compose sentences and essays, and was made up of three subtests; Sentence Composition, Spelling, and Essay Composition. Her Written Expression standard score was 118, which was within the Above Average Range. Loren s score was ranked at the 88 th percentile, indicating that she scored as well as or better than, 88% of children her age within the standardization sample. The Essay Composition subtest was made up of two sub-sections; Word Count, and Theme Development and Text Organization. The Essay Composition subtest measured Loren s compositional writing skills. She earned a standard score of 118, which was within the Above Average Range, and at the 88 th percentile. On a sub-section that measured how many words she was able to write within a time limit, Loren earned a standard score of 132, which was in the Page 5

Superior Range and ranked at the 98 th percentile (Word Count). The Word Count sub-section is considered a relative and normative strength when compared to her other scores, and when compared against children the same age. The Theme Development and Text Organization subsection assessed Loren s ability to compose an essay; she earned a standard score of 102, which is within the Average Range, and ranked at the 55 th percentile. On a subtest that measured Loren s spelling skills, she was within the Above Average Range with a standard score of 118, which is ranked at the 88 th percentile (Spelling subtest). The Sentence Composition subtest was comprised of two sub-sections; Sentence Combining and Sentence Building. The Sentence Composition subtest measured her ability to write sentences that included predetermined words, and measured her ability to combine separate sentences into one. She earned a standard score of 106, which was ranked at the 66 rd percentile, and within the Average Range. On a sub-section that assessed her ability to combine sentences that were provided, and have them retain the same meaning, she was within the Average range with a standard score of 103, which was ranked at the 58 th percentile (Sentence Combining). For the Sentence Building sub-section, Loren was to write complete sentences that included a predetermined word. She obtained a standard score of 108, which was ranked at the 70 th percentile, and within the Average Range. Mathematics/Math Fluency Mathematics 110 (105-115) 75 Average Math Problem Solving 113 (105-121) 81 >12.9 Average Numerical Operations 104 (97-111) 61 10.7 Average Math Fluency 91 (84-98) 27 Average Math Fluency Addition 89 (78-100) 23 6.5 Average Math Fluency Subtraction 99 (89-109) 47 8.7 Average Math Fluency Multiplication 87 (77-97) 19 5.7 Average The Mathematics composite was designed to measure overall mathematical abilities, and was comprised of two subtests; Math Problem Solving and Numerical Operations. On the Mathematics composite her standard score was 110, which was within the Average Range, and ranked at the 75 th percentile, indicating that her score was as good as or better than 75% of children her age within the standardization sample. The Math Problem Solving Subtest measured Loren s ability to solve math problems in areas such as addition, subtraction, time, and graphing, under timed conditions. Her standard score was 113 which was within the Average Range, and ranked at the 81 st percentile. On the Numerical Operations subtest Loren s standard score was 104, which was at the 61 st percentile, and within the Average Range. On this subtest, Loren s mathematical computation skills were Page 6

assessed in areas such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and other higher mathematical operations. The Math Fluency composite was made up of three subtests, Math Fluency Addition, Math Fluency Subtraction, and Math Fluency Multiplication. It measured Loren s ability to correctly add, subtract, and multiply under timed conditions. On the Math Fluency composite, her standard score was 91, which was within the Average Range. This score was ranked at the 27 th percentile, indicating that 27% of children her age scored the same as, or higher than Loren. Her abilities utilizing addition were within the Average Range, and ranked at the 23 rd percentile with a standard score of 89 (Math Fluency Addition). Loren s ability to accurately subtract while under a timed condition, was measured by the Math Fluency Subtraction subtest. Her standard score was 99, which was within the Average Range, and at the 47 th percentile. Loren s multiplication abilities were within the Average Rage, and ranked at the 19 th percentile with a standard score of 87 (Math Fluency Multiplication). Discussion of Results: Loren s overall performance as measured by the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test- Third Edition (WIAT-III) was within the Average Range. Her performance in the regular education classroom was similar to her performance on this test. In school her performance would be considered average, with her report card showing mostly A s and some B s in academic areas. Loren reported that she splits her time appropriately between studying, homework, and free time with pleasure activities and sports. Loren plans to attend college for mathematics which is an area she performed Average in when compared to her same aged peers. It was interesting that Loren enjoys math but performed within the low end of the Average Range on Math Fluency. This may be due to her becoming better at higher mathematical computations, but becoming used to using the calculator for addition, subtraction and multiplication, which is what the Math Fluency cluster measures. This test is a good indicator of Loren s academic abilities, and accurately represents her performance within the classroom. Summary: Loren was referred by her mother, for the purpose of allowing the examiner to gain experience with administration and other essential components of the assessment process. At the time of testing, Loren was a 14-year, and 8-month old 9 th grader who had a positive attitude toward testing. All results and observations made during this evaluation will remain confidential, and will not be given to the participant or her family. Loren s overall academic ability was within the Average Range and was a good estimate of her general academic functioning. There was minimal variability between the clusters within this test, indicating that her overall academic ability can be interpreted meaningfully. Her Written Expression skills were Above Average and a relative strength when compared to her Total Reading, and Reading Comprehension and Fluency scores. When writing an essay, Page 7

Loren s Word Count was in the Superior Range and was a normative and relative strength when compared to her performance on other subtests, and when compared to the performance of her same aged peers. Loren also performed better on the Mathematics cluster when compared to how she performed on Math Fluency; both of these clusters were still in the Average Range. Recommendations: Based upon skill analysis and a review of goal statements, it is recommended that Loren remain in her general education class, and receive no intensive intervention outside of those that follow: Reading Comprehension 1.) Loren will be provided with narrative passages at a 10 th grade reading level that she will read aloud. She will then be asked to answer 5 written open ended questions for each reading. These questions will include but are not limited to, literal questions about events, feelings/beliefs expressed by a character, and facts presented in the reading. 2.) inferential and literal comprehension questions will include wh questions (who, what, etc.), feeling/beliefs of a character, sequences of events, predicting events, all that either were or were not explicitly stated in the passage. She will also be asked the main idea and asked to orally define several unfamiliar words within the passage. The long-term goal is for Loren to answer both literal and inferential comprehension questions with 80% accuracy, while being able to look back at that passage as needed to help her answer questions. Oral Reading Fluency 1.) Loren will silently practice reading short stories and answer true or false questions based on those readings shorty after reading them. She may also read passages aloud to a parent of teacher, receiving feedback from that person as needed to indicate when a reading error occurs. *Feedback from the parent or teacher to indicate when a reading error occurs may be verbal (e.g., oops ) or nonverbal (e.g., tap the pencil). The long term goal is for Loren to read aloud a narrative passage at a 10 th grade reading level, with > 175 words per minute with no more than 4 errors. Examiner: Graduate Psychology Student Page 8 Supervisor: Licensed School Psychologist

Wechsler Individual Achievement Test- Third Edition (WIAT-III) Score Summary Total Achievement 109 (105-113) 73 Average Oral Language 111 (102-120) 77 Average Listening Comprehension 116 (104-128) 86 12.1 Above Average Oral Expression 103 (93-113) 58 9.9 Average Total Reading 101 (96-106) 53 Average Basic Reading 104 (100-108) 61 Average Word Reading 107 (102-112) 68 12.7 Average Pseudoword Decoding 103 (98-108) 58 10.2 Average Reading Comprehension & Fluency 99 (91-107) 47 Average Reading Comprehension 101 (89-113) 53 10.0 Average Oral Reading Fluency 98 (91-105) 45 8.2 Average Written Expression 118 (111-125) 88 Above Average Sentence Composition 106 (95-117) 66 12.3 Average Spelling 118 (113-123) 88 >12.9 Above Average Essay Composition 118 (107-129) 88 12.8 Above Average Mathematics 110 (105-115) 75 Average Math Problem Solving 113 (105-121) 81 >12.9 Average Numerical Operations 104 (97-111) 61 10.7 Average Math Fluency 91 (84-98) 27 Average Math Fluency Addition 89 (78-100) 23 6.5 Average Math Fluency Subtraction 99 (89-109) 47 8.7 Average Math Fluency Multiplication 87 (77-97) 19 5.7 Average Page 9