Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment Woodcock Johnson Question

Hi everyone,

My 11 year old son is struggling with undiagnosed learning disabilities. I am trying to get the school to test him.

I just received a call from the school that they have decided to give him the Woodcock Johnson test today, but I am not familiar with it. I am wondering what information it provides.

I am familiar with the wisc iv, my son had this test a couple of years ago. His scores were fairly even across the board without major variations. He was just started on concerta a couple of months ago for inattentive adhd issues.

It sounded like they are planning to compare the wisc and woodcock scores?

My concerns about my son are about the possibility of some sort of auditory/sensory disorder, and possible dysgraphia.

My impression is that the Woodcock Johnson is just another IQ test. Am I wrong? Can it serve as a screening tool for learning disabilities?

Thanks

There is a WJ cognitive ability and an achievement test. It sounds like they are going to use WJ-III (achievement). IQ is about potentiality and achievement is, that which has already been actualized. So comparing what a child could be doing with what he is doing is a good way of uncovering some LD (learning disabilities).

I think mam is right - they are using the WJ achievement tests.

Just a note of caution - my experience is that the WJ is not very sensitive to mild to moderate LD's. The test is designed to elicit the needed information using minimal time and test questions. I have observed that bright kids with LD's can often score average to above on the WJ since the test items are very short, not timed and skills are tested in isolation. For instance, the writing requires only a couple sentences on very concrete questions.

If they are testing for LD, be sure that they really dig into the areas of suspected weakness. For instance, if the concerns in the auditory realm are phonemic awareness, be sure they do other tests such as the CTOPP (comprehensive test of phonological awareness) or if the auditory issues are more about comprehension and full S&L battery. If the dysgraphia is a motor issue, they should do an OT evaluation that looks closely at visual motor integration and visual processing. If the writing goes beyond handwriting, the WIAT (which is co-normed with WISC) and the TOWL test of written language are two tests that are much better at assessing writing skills than WJ.

Given the ADHD component, I would suggest they also look at Executive functioning.

Here are some links that might help: Types of evaluations http://www.concordspedpac.org/TypesEvals.html
Types of educational tests http://www.concordspedpac.org/TypesTests.html

90 minute dysgraphia evaluation: http://www.concordspedpac.org/articles/90-Minute-Dysgraphia-Evaluation.pdf

Hope this helps!