So I am calling around for costs of achievement and one place is a corporation that offers all different types of psych-educational testing as well as tutoring and coaching. They want about $600 to give DS WJIII Reading and Math.

I called a woman who lives in my area who advertises that she was a Special Ed. Teacher (10 yrs) and is a homeschool evaluator (K-12) She says she is an evaluator for several diploma agencies including PHAA, Mason-Dixon, Erie Co. and Susquehanna Co., a Notary Public, and that can administer standardized tests, including the Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Achievement (among others) She quoted me a price of $55.

The price difference is so jarring it kind of makes me nervous aboout... The first place is a business and incorporated and has eduational psychs on staff. So I know they are credible but so expensive! Anyone know what I should look for on terms of making sure the homeschool evaluator is legit and credible, etc? I found her name on a local homeschool website.

In general, a person administering a test for homeschoolers would be serving a parental need for initial screening to see if further (more expensive) assessments may be needed, they may not often be serving a parental need for detailed information to use for advocacy.

Are either of these test administrators familiar with gifted? 2e?

You may wish to consider whether your needs may be more in line with the full-service corporation. When talking with each test administrator, you may wish to share your purpose for testing, planned use(s) of the scores, and ask about the detail of the score reporting and interpretation that you would receive for the stated price.

It is my understanding a test administrator would be "legit" and "credible", qualified with the required credentials, or the test company would not sell their tests to him/her to administer.

Thanks so much Indigo!

Well, as you may remember, I already have an IQ test and report from a neuropsych. I wanted to bring him back to that neuropsych to finish the achievement testing because we just had run out of time and energy at the inital testing for any more than a few subtests. But it will cost a lot (about $650). The full service corp wants $600.

And then there is this homeschool woman. She advertises that she can "administer and evaluate the Woodcock Johnson III Tests of Achievement." She said she'd only charge $55 since I just want Reading and Math. We talked about his special needs and I did mention that he is also bright with a relatively high IQ. We discussed his writing disability, the accomodatiosn he gets at school.

I think I really just need scores with percentiles and grade level equivalents, no?

Just for some further info, I want them for a few reasons:

(1) just to see for myself when DS is in those areas right now b/c he seems pretty high above grade level in those areas - so just for my own curiosity and get a better picture (I also want to see if he is going up and how much from last year);

(2) I will also submit them to the ADHD center if/when I proceed with the eval for adhd - just so they have a good picture of not only his IQ and his struggles but of his achievement in relation to his IQ as well (I think that is important when considering how to proceed with ADHD treatment, no?); and,

(3) perhaps if it's high enough to apply for DYS (I can't remember - does one need two qualifying achievement scores plus IQ or just one qualifying achievement score plus IQ?)

I know when the school psych gave him the WJIII Achievment Tests last year she didn't give a big report on them, just listed the scores and grade level equivalents.

In terms of either being familiar with twice exceptional, no one seems to be very knowledgeable about that around here (unless they cost a bundle) so I give up!

If you want someone to treat the results as legit, I would avoid the $55 deal. She may be familiar with the WJIII, but I don't think she has the credentials. I'm not certain, but I would think that one of the numerous places in the area that administers the WISC would also administer the WJ III.

oh no... bummer ..Yes places that administer wisc administer WJIII achievement but they are very expensive.

If you do a websearch on Woodcock Johnson III you can see the free public website of the test company. You may want to compare and discuss with the potential test administrator what each score report contains (Complete test? Achievement Test? Just Reading & Math?)

Here's a link to the qualifications page. The WJIII Cognitive Battery is listed. You may wish to verify this is the same version of the WJIII you plan for your ds to take.

You'll want to be sure the test & score reports will meet your needs.

Irena, awhile ago I pm'd you the name and contact info for someone. She may be somewhat less than the $600, and she is a qualified school psych. I wouldn't say she is an expert in 2e, but she seemed to do right by my two.

Yes I got it, thanks! It's just the psychologists are always so much more expensive (and she's a little far from me). I was under the impression that while IQ testing had to be done by a certified school psychologist achievement testing could be done by much less than a psychologist and as a result much cheaper. I suppose I misunderstood...

The test publisher website offers a page of "examiner qualifications".

One need not necessarily be a school psychologist.

A person wants to work with the test, test version, and score report which will meet their needs.

So, Indigo, do you think as long as the tester and I come to a clear understanding as to what I need from her (which believe we already have, i.e., she agreed to do the full math and reading WJII test, score the test and write a report containing the scores, age and grade percentiles), then she should be fine?

The tester is listed on the PHAA, which is the "Pennsylvania Homeschoolers Accreditation Agency" http://www.phaa.org/ (a diploma-granting organization recognized by the Pennsylvania Department of Education to provide diplomas to graduates of Pennsylvania home education programs) as an accredited evaluator and tester I mean, I assume homeschooling people need this stuff (achievement testing) too and that's why businesses like hers exist... She isn't a school psychologist so she can't offer psycho-educational evals but the more I look into her it does look like she's probably legit for testing. There are may evaluators listed on the page but she seems to be very close to us geographically plus I like her special education experience.

According to how she is coded on the PHAA site (and she tells me and her website indicates) that she can "Can evaluate for Elementary students (i.e. grades 1-6) without advance written permission from the local school superintendent; Can evaluate for Secondary students (i.e. grades 7-12) without advance written permission from the local school superintendent; Can pre-approve for the handicapped" and, most important for my purposes, "Offers Individual PIAT or Woodcock-Johnson testing which can be used to meet the 3rd, 5th, or 8th grade testing requirement."

I just do not want to spend $600 on just getting two achievement tests. But I'd hate it if he could qualify for DYS and I didn't bother getting it done. I also think it would be very useful for other things as I listed. I already spent a bundle getting the IQ testing and report from the neuropsych. And I understand their kind of expertise is necessary for that ... But just seeing where he is achievement-wise? in reading and math? I mean, in school the teachers can give these tests right ? It doesn't have to be the school psych (even if it usually is b/c it is usually part of an RTI and eval).

I used to give the woodcock Johnson achievement tests and other tests all the time as a special. Ed teacher...I was trained in my M.Ed. program as well as inservice training from the schools...it isn't hard...if you don't do it often you need to look it over but the more you do it the easier it is. We used to practice on each other.

Many tests don't require a psychologist to administer...but sometimes you want one person doing all of the testing to look at the big picture at the initial testing...later you just don't need a psychologist to do follow up achievement testing...frees the psychologist up for an initial evaluation.

Thanks Sweetie. That's what I was thinking (I love it when I hear what I want to hear, LOL). This woman has a Masters Degree in Special Education also and was a teacher for 29 years. Looks like she basically retired from teaching and started her own business testing, evaluating, etc. homeschoolers.

Like I said I just feel like I am throwing money away getting something like this done by a psych or a neuropsych when it just isn't necessary. I know he is above grade level in these areas... I want to see how much and maybe look into DYS. But I would like the scores/report to be considered valid obviously for DYS and such.

And quite honestly I think DYS is a long shot. So I want to "see" if it's a possibility but if its not I certainly don't want to have spent $600 finding that out!

Having thought about this for a bit,

1) Test administrator criteria may be found online, here is one source of Examiner Qualifications.
Reading this, I would understand the test administrator to be qualified credible, legit, etc.

The questions which remain (and where I would focus my continued research) would be on exploring how well the test results and score report would be a "fit" for planned uses. I most often suggest looking at the "primary source" for information. This is because information can change rapidly and without notice, and it is important to have confidence in what informed our decisions.

2) You may wish to know whether the test you are looking at may be different than the tests accepted by DYS. My thought, WJIII Achievement math/reading only may not be a match with WJIII Cognitive Battery. This is something you may wish to explore.

3) Reading "Offers Individual PIAT or Woodcock-Johnson testing which can be used to meet the 3rd, 5th, or 8th grade testing requirement", I would understand this to be a limitation of the test results and score report to these stated purposes. This is something you may wish to explore.


If the answer to #2 is a match, and the answer to #3 is no limitation, you may wish to work with this tester and enjoy the savings.

Other answers may indicate this would be a useless test for your purposes. (Not a useless test, not a useless test administrator, just not the right "fit" for your purposes.)

Other posters may have other questions to consider to help inform a decision, or other methodology for making a decision.

Well it looks like from the DYS site, DS needs IQ and what we have meets with those requirements (we have WISC IV, VCI 148 by neuropsych with a report).

And, in addition, he needs this: "Woodcock-Johnson Test of Achievement-III (WJ-III Ach) Standard score 145+ (99.9th percentile) on at least one of the following sections: Broad Reading, Broad Math, Broad Written Language, or Total Achievement"

Woodcock Johnson Cognitive battery is NOT the Woodcock Achievement test... It is an IQ test like WISC IV. Woodcock Achievement test and Woodcock Cognitive Battery are two different things and DS doesn't need the Woodcock Cognitive Battery because he already has WISC IV scores.
So, I thought that's why I'd just do Broad reading and Broad Math. I know he is very high in both and I suspect at least close to 145 on the math.

Thanks for the tester qualifications link!

Irena, you could also use the Explore for DYS. Worked for us. I believe it might not be too late to sign up for this year.

I looked into that but it's not for 2nd grade...

I would make sure she can give you Broad Math and Broad Reading scores. There have been several people here who think that is what they are getting, but they do not.

DS had the Woodcock Johnson Achievement as part of his IEP eval. Does your DS have an IEP? Can't remember. If so, when is he up for a re-evaluation? The school is supposed to do a comprehensive eval every 3 years (or more often if you request one). Comprehensive evals involve looking at cognitive ability and academic achievement.

Keep in mind the Woodcock Johnson Achievement involves fluency/writing on each section and those sections are timed. Even the reading fluency section involved writing. DS was slower in every section labeled "fluency" because he had to write. His broad math was still 155 though. I can't remember your DS's specific issues (ie whether he has a writing or speed issue) so not sure if this helps. I am doubtful that my DD would do well on an achievement test like the WJ because she is so slow.
edited to add, I looked at the other posts in this thread again and it looks like he had it last year? Then you should know about the writing/timing aspect and whether it's an issue.

Yes, he had one this time last year at school at my insistence, actually. I naively thought we'd get the dysgraphia identified and I wanted him looked at for dyslexia. School psych said she didn't see dyslexia at all but could see evidence of dysgraphia - however, none of that ended up in her report... Apparently, schools do not use the word dysgraphia and simply g about pretending it does not exist... Anyway, that's why I know if I insist on testing again this year it won't go over well and I'll look like a crackpot. As they already did an entire re-eval last year. Plus as a result of that eval was when they tried to sneak away his accommodations. Because the eval triggered the entire iep process again; they took the opportunity to re-write the iep with very watered down writing accommodations. This, as many of you remember, triggered the big "war" I had with them, and I had to hire a lawyer. Ultimately, it worked out for us b/c DS ended up with even stronger more thorough accommodations than he had originally and I ended up losing like 8lbs but it was a knock-down drag-out battle during which I lost weight and a tremendous amount of sleep.

I did talk with the tester about his EDS and dysgraphia and accommodations he gets... She said she'll do as much orally as she can. She was a special-ed teacher and advises and evals homeschooled special-ed students so she seemed very good with that aspect.

Just make sure, whatever she does, the test ends up being valid in case DYS wants only a "valid" test done according to the directions. Not sure how IEPs/504's/accommodations fit into that. For example let's say DD gets a 504 for her ADHD/processing speed issue. Would she be able to take the WJ modified and have the scores count? Or Explore? She is completely unable to take timed tests, which is why she did so awful on the CogAT. The WISC was Ok except for the sections that were timed (although block design was Ok at a 16).

Sounds like you have had a really hard time of it! I wasn't around a year ago so didn't know. You might as well pay the cheap person and if it ends up being bogus or poorly done, you are not out much money. A special ed teacher at the school gave DS the WJ and I was skeptical that he would be competent but it was fine.