178 ESSENTIALS OF KTEA™-3 AND WIAT®-III ASSESSMENT

(Continued)

The WIAT-III Scoring Assistant can be used alone or in combination with other ability tests that use the same software platform, such as the DAS-II and WAIS-IV. Provision is made for comparing ability and achievement and conducting ability-achievement discrepancy (AAD) analyses so that results from both the WIAT-III and an ability test can be included in a single report.

SUBTEST-BY-SUBTEST SCORING KEYS

This section highlights pertinent information for scoring each of the WIAT-III subtests and points out common errors in scoring. Generally subtests are listed in record form order, although subtests with very similar administration considerations are grouped together.

WIAT®–III 179

Listening Comprehension

Scoring the Receptive Vocabulary component of Listening Comprehension is straightforward and requires very little judgment. Only the responses listed in the record form may be scored as correct.

For scoring Oral Discourse Comprehension, if the examinee paraphrases a correct response by conveying the same meaning using di erent words, score the response as correct. Disregard item scores after the discontinue point of four consecutive scores of 0. For

example, after the examine scored two consecutive scores of 0 on a passage, the examiner administered one additional item for that passage before reversing to an earlier passage then discontinuing after all items for the earlier passage were scored 0. The additional item that was administered would not be included in the subtest raw score because the item is after the discontinue point of four consecutive scores of 0.

Early Reading Skills

111111111

Correct responses are included in the record form and specify the expected mode of response: (O) for oral, (P) for pointing, and (P or O) when either a pointing response or an oral response is acceptable. Encourage the examinee to respond in the expected manner. For example, if the student responds orally when the response indicates that he or she should point, encourage the student to point to the answer.

Reading Comprehension

Sample 2-point and 1-point responses are included in the record form. These sample responses were collected from a national sample of examinees. The 2-point answers listed include only high-quality responses that capture the most salient and pertinent features of the text. The Don’t Forget box o ers additional explanation for certain items that may be challenging to score.

C A U T I O N

........................................................................................................

Scoring Reading Comprehension Items

The following items tend to raise questions for examiners about how the scoring rules were determined. Additional explanation is provided here.

Item 73 requires the examinee to explain what caused whales to begin to make a recovery, and two specific answers are necessary to obtain full credit. Only two of the

(continued)

180 ESSENTIALS OF KTEA™-3 AND WIAT®-III ASSESSMENT

(Continued)

three 1-point responses are acceptable in the 2-point response. A 1-point response is “Placed on endangered species list,” which requires a query by the examiner of “Tell me more.” However, “Placed on endangered species list” does not qualify as one of the necessary 2-point responses. This response is queried to encourage the examinee to elaborate and possibly provide a 2-point response.

Item 76: Identify the three consequences that would result if zoo prices are not raised. The answers that receive credit (i.e., zoo closes, animals sold off, children lose learning experiences, families lose entertainment) are the most salient consequences listed in the passage, because the passage clearly states that the zoo would close if zoo prices are not raised, and these are the consequences of the zoo closing. There are alternative responses that could be derived from the passage, such as the employees not receiving raises or the facilities not being kept up; however, these are not the most salient consequences because none of these would be relevant if the zoo were no longer open.

Understanding the design of this subtest and the purpose of the item set reverse rule is essential for correctly

interpreting the subtest results when an 22222222111111111 examinee reverses to a preceding item

set (see Caution box). Interpreting the results can be challenging when, for example, a examinee reverses to a preceding item set and receives a standard score in the average—or even above average—range. Initially, it may seem inaccurate that an examinee who was unsuccessful in completing his or her grade-appropriate item set could receive such a strong score; however, examinees with comprehension weaknesses that are primarily due to word recognition weaknesses may demonstrate intact comprehension skills at their reading level. For these examinees, comprehension is not a primary area of weakness.

Many standardized achievement tests or curriculum-based measures assess only reading comprehension of

grade-level passages. These tests assess basic reading skills as well as comprehension skills. As a diagnostic achievement test, the WIAT-III is designed to home in on

WIAT®–III 181

skill strengths and weaknesses. When an examinee performs poorly on reading comprehension items with grade-level passages, it must be determined whether the examinee has a weakness in word identification skills, reading vocabulary, reading comprehension skills, or some combination of these. By reversing to an item set, examinees have the opportunity to demonstrate reading comprehension skills on passages at a lower readability level, placing fewer demands on word identification and vocabulary skills. If the examinee performs poorly on the preceding (lower) item set, then it is likely that the examinee has a weakness in the area of reading comprehension, and further assessment, error analysis, and intervention in this area should be pursued. On the other hand, if the examinee performs well on the preceding item set, the examiner may rule out reading comprehension as the area of weakness. It is important for the examiner to complete an error analysis to identify how word identification and vocabulary di culties may have a ected the examinee’s ability to comprehend written material at the grade-appropriate start point. The examinee’s performance on the Word Reading and the Listening Comprehension (Receptive Vocabulary) subtests should be evaluated in conjunction with the error analysis results to determine if intervention should include work in one or both of these areas.

Don’t Forget

22222222111111111

.....................................................................................................................

Constructs Measured by the WIAT-III Reading

Comprehension Subtest

For Readers Who Complete the Grade-Appropriate Item Set

For examinees who do not need to reverse to a preceding item set, this subtest measures reading comprehension of passages that are generally appropriate for the examinee’s grade level. It is important to keep in mind that the passages within an item set generally cover a range of reading difficulty, from slightly below to slightly above grade level; as a result, all passages in the first-grade item set, for example, may not be precisely at a first-grade reading level.

For Struggling Readers Who Reverse to a Preceding Item Set

The item set reverse rule allows reading comprehension of below-grade-level material relative to be compared with the performance of same-age or same-grade peers. Each passage (and item set) is composed of questions designed to measure a variety of comprehension skills. Each item set includes several types of factual and inferential questions, which simulate comprehension questions that teachers ask to test students’ understanding of reading materials. As a result, the types of questions included in each item set do not uniformly increase in difficulty, nor do comprehension questions

(continued)

182 ESSENTIALS OF KTEA™-3 AND WIAT®-III ASSESSMENT

(Continued)

measure increasingly complex skills from one item set to the next. A sampling of the same literal and inferential comprehension skills are distributed within and across item sets. This design enables an examinee to demonstrate reading comprehension skills on passages at a lower readability level and controls for potentially confounding weaknesses in word identification and vocabulary knowledge. Consequently, the Reading Comprehension subtest becomes a “purer” measure of reading comprehension for struggling readers.

Math Problem Solving

If the examinee provides an answer that is equivalent to the correct answer listed in the record form, award credit for the response. If the examinee provides a response in a di erent response modality (i.e., oral or pointing) than the one listed beside the correct answer in the record form, query the examinee to tell you their answer or point to their answer

22222222111111111 as appropriate.

Alphabet Writing Fluency

The raw score for Alphabet Writing Fluency is the number of letters written within the time limit that meets the scoring criteria listed in Appendix B.1

of the Examiner’s Manual. Helpful scoring examples are provided in Appendix B.1 as well as in the WIAT-III Scoring Workbook. Score responses after administration is complete. Use the score box provided in the record form to record which letters received credit, whether the letters were upperor lowercase, and the types of errors made.

Alphabet Writing Fluency is not a handwriting test, so scoring is lenient when it comes to letter formation. Letters are typically easier to recognize in the context of a word. When written in isolation, letters may resemble each other (e.g., h and n). When trying to decipher the examinee’s handwriting, use the following tips:

Use Context Cues Use the letter’s position or order relative to other letters on the page and the student’s writing style as context cues to help you determine