Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment Need info Re WIAT-II and DYS

Please help me understand. I have WIAT II Achievement testing for my son from 2011 and 2013 and WJ from 2013.

DYS application requests qualifying scores for WIAT on "at least one of the following sections: Total Reading, Total Mathematics, Total Written Language, or Total Composite"

My son has the following:

At 4yrs WIAT II
Word Reading (DYS level)
Math Reasoning

At 6yrs WIAT II
Reading Comprehension (DYS level)
Oral Reading Fluency
Oral Reading Rate
Oral Reading Accuracy

Alternate Option for achievement on Woodcock Johnson DYS wants qualifying score "on at least one of the following sections: Reading, Math or Total Battery"

I have WJ at 6
Broad Reading
Brief Reading
Brief Math (DYS level)

All of these have been submitted along with qualifying IQ scores and I have received a request for portfolio. Do I have the wrong tests for achievement? What am I missing here? Did they overlook something or am I misunderstanding? The DYS levels marked above are well above cutoff.

None of those sections are qualifying for DYS purposes. They want to see Broad Math scores on WJ over the DYS level, not brief math. On the WAIT, they want the Total Reading section to be above the DYS level, not reading comprehension or word reading.

Thanks! So my testing is rather incomplete regarding achievement? That is rather frustrating. What additional reading sections are there on WIAT for a 4yr old beyond "Word Reading"? He had a "perfect" score on that. I had assumed that the math and reading were the only 2 subtests since we paid a flat rate for a WIAT and WPPSI and not an hourly rate.

Your WIAT-II scores were rejected because you only had a single qualifying subtest each time. It's like trying to qualify on IQ with just one (out of the standard ten) subtests on the WISC-IV.

As for the Woodcock-Johnson, I don't recall without pulling out old reports, but the Broad Math would have double (or more?) the subtests as the Brief Math.

At this point, I am not sure whether it would be considered valid even if you were to take the missing subtests for Math to see if they reach DYS level. It may be worth an email to DYS to check. It is just weird that the tester gave your DS every subtests to get Total Reading score but not for Total Math on the Woodcock Johnson. The alternative may be to take all the math subtests to get a Total Math score for WIAT-II.

Obviously we could begin the work of preparing a portfolio... However, I prefer the empirical nature of testing myself.

I do know why the entire battery was likely not given. My child has major issues with any test involving a pencil or being timed. He is not easy to test and between his Dyspraxia, ADHD, and Anxiety, getting through the battery could be rather daunting.

I just got an email from them asking for more information. They are asking for recent achievement test or college sat test which my 5 year old obviously wont qualify. Any suggestion as to what I should send them? I thought that there are 3 options, which means any of those..why are they asking for all 3? His IQ qualifies him and they are seeking more information. I even sent videos.. Why are they looking for more?

[quote=charleneneil]I just got an email from them asking for more information. They are asking for recent achievement test or college sat test which my 5 year old obviously wont qualify. Any suggestion as to what I should send them? I thought that there are 3 options, which means any of those..why are they asking for all 3? His IQ qualifies him and they are seeking more information. I even sent videos.. Why are they looking for more?


You need both IQ and achievement testing to qualify i.e. 2 of the 3 to get in. If you do not have achievement scores they will ask for a portfolio.

qxp,
I already sent a portfolio but they are still asking for an achievement test. How do I get this? Do I request my son's school? He is only 5 years old.

Dottie-- His score was both... 160 and he missed nothing on that test. The tester spoke with me specifically about that as his WPPSI Verbal, though high, did not predict such a result on the WIAT.

I think I'd better consult our most recent tester and ask his advice regarding further testing. I do not know if his 2e profile will affect him significantly enough to drop his overall scores below qualifying. I know he is capable of the necessary scores but depending on the nature of the subtests, he may not be able to show that adequately.

charleneneil-- you can pay for private testing if you do not have an educational need that motivates school to do achievement testing. If they are asking for more than your portfolio, then they were unable to determine if your child meets the criteria based on what you submitted. They require at least 2 of the 3 options that meet or exceed their minimum criteria. If you cannot get what is needed now, you can wait and gather new data in a few years as he has more testing done.