2. Achievement Tests
• Achievement Tests
– Norm-referenced
• Allow for comparisons between students
– Criterion-referenced
• Allow for comparisons between individual students and a
skill benchmark.
• Why do we use achievement tests?
– Assist teachers in determining skills students do and
do not have
– Inform instruction
– Academic screening
– Progress evaluation
3. Classifying Achievement Tests
Diagnostic Achievement
Number of students who can be tested
High
Less efficient administration – Dense
content and numerous items allow
teachers to uncover specific strengths
and weaknesses
Low
More efficient administration –
Comparisons between students can be
made but very little power in determining
strengths and weaknesses
High
Efficient administration – Typically only
quantitative data are available
Low
Less efficient administration – Allows for
more qualitative information about the
student.
4. Considerations for Selecting a Test
• Four Factors
– Content validity
• What the test actually measures should match its intended
use
– Stimulus-response modes
• Students should not be hindered by the manner of test
administration or required response
– Standards used in state
– Relevant norms
• Does the student population being assessed match the
population from which the normative data were acquired?
5. Tests of Academic Achievement
• Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT-R/
NU)
• Wide Range Achievement Test 4 (WRAT4)
• Wechsler Individual Achievement Test 3
(WIAT-III)
6. Peabody Individual Achievement Test-
Revised/Normative Update (PIAT-R/NU)
• In general…
– Individually administered; norm-referenced for K-
12 students
• Norm population
– Most recent update was completed in 1998
• Representative of each grade level
– No changes to test structure
7. PIAT-R/NU
Subtests
Mathematics: 100
multiple-choice items
assess students’
knowledge and
application of math
concepts and facts
Reading recognition:
100 multiple-choice
items require students
to match and name
letters and words
General information:
100 questions
presented orally.
Content areas include
social studies, science,
sports, and fine arts.
Reading
comprehension: 81
multiple-choice items
require students to
select an appropriate
answer following a
reading passage
Spelling: 100 items
ranging in difficulty
from kindergarten
(letter naming) to high
school (multiple-choice
following verbal
presentation)
Written expression:
Split into two levels.
Level 1 assesses pre-writing
skills and Level
II requires story writing
following a picture
prompt
8. PIAT-R/NU
• Scores
– For all but one subtest (written expression), response
to each item is pass/fail
– Raw scores converted into:
• Standard scores
• Percentile ranks
• Normal curve equivalents
• Stanines
– 3 composite scores
• Total reading
• Total test
• Written language
9. PIAT-R/NU
• Reliability and Validity
– Despite new norms, reliability and validity data
are only available for the original PIAT-R (1989)
– Previous reliability and validity data are likely
outdated
• Outdated tests may not be relevant in the current
educational context
10. Wide Range Achievement Test 4
(WRAT4)
• In general…
– Individually administered
– 15-45 minute test length depending on age (5-94
age range)
– Norm-referenced, but covers a limited sample of
behaviors in 4 content areas
• Norm population
– Stratified across age, gender, ethnicity, geographic
region, and parental education
11. WRAT4
Subtests
Word Reading:
The student is
required to
name letters
and read
words
Sentence
Comprehension:
The student is
shown sentences
and fills in missing
words
Spelling: The
student write
down words as
they are read
aloud
Math
Computation: The
student solves
basic
computation
problems
• Scores
– Raw scores converted to:
• Standard scores, confidence
intervals, percentiles, grade
equivalents, and stanines
• Reading composite available
• Reliability
– Internal consistency and
alternate-form data are
sufficient for screening purposes
• Validity
– Performance increases with age
– WRAT4 is linked to other tests
that have since been updated;
additional evidence is necessary
12. Wechsler Individual Achievement Test-
Third Edition (WIAT-III)
• General
– Diagnostic, norm-referenced achievement test
– Reading, mathematics, written expression,
listening, and speaking
– Ages 4-19
• Norm Population
– Stratified sampling was used to sample within
several common demographic variables:
• Pre K – 12, age, race/ethnicity, sex, parent education,
geographic region
13. WIAT-III
• Subtests and scores
– 16 subtests arranged into 7 domain composite
scores and one total achievement score (structure
provided on next slide)
– Raw scores converted to:
• Standard scores, percentile ranks, normal curve
equivalents, stanines, age and grade equivalents, and
growth scale value scores.
14. WIAT-III Subtests
Composite Subtest
Basic Reading Word Reading
Pseudoword Decoding
Reading Comprehension
and Fluency
Reading Comprehension
Oral Reading Fluency
Early Reading Skills
Mathematics Math Problem Solving
Numerical Operations
Math Fluency Math Fluency – (Addition, Subtraction, & Multiplication)
Written Expression Alphabet Writing Fluency
Spelling
Sentence Composition
Essay Composition
Oral Expression Listening Comprehension
Oral Expression
15. WIAT-III
• Reliability
– Adequate reliability evidence
• Split-half
• Test-retest
• Interrater agreement
• Validity
– Adequate validity evidence
• Content
• Construct
• Criterion
• Clinical Utility
• Stronger reliability and validity evidence increase the
relevance of information derived from the WIAT-III
16. Getting the Most Out of an Achievement Test
• Helpful but not sufficient – most tests allow
teachers to find an appropriate starting point
• What is the nature of the behaviors being
sampled by the test?
– Need to seek out additional information
concerning student strengths and weaknesses
• Which items did the student excel on? Which did he or
she struggle with?
• Were there patterns of responding?
