K.

Incorvaia 1














SPED 425: Educational Achievement Report
Towson University
Kristen Incorvaia


























K. Incorvaia 2

Educational Achievement Report

Demographic Information

Name: Hannah Montana School: Matawan Aberdeen Middle School
Date of Birth: October 25, 2000 Grade/Educational Setting:
Chronological Age: 13 years, 5 months, 24 days ID #: N/A
Evaluation Date(s): April 18, 2014 Examiner: Kristen Incorvaia
Primary Language: English
Primary Language of Test: English
Date of Report: April 18, 2014

Reason for Referral
Hannah Montana was evaluated on April 18, 2013. At the time of the evaluation, Hannah was
13 years and 5 months old. According to the academic history, interview with Hannahs mother,
and family background, Hannah has been experiencing difficulty in many academic areas. For
example, Hannah has been performing inconsistently in the areas of reading, mathematics, and
written language. Based on this information, Hannah was referred for an educational
achievement evaluation.

Test Administered/Rationale
Due to Hannahs inconsistency with her grades, the Woodcock Johnson Test of Achievement III
(WJ-ACH III) was administered. The WJ-ACH III is an individually administered test of
achievement measuring five curricular areas- reading, mathematics, written language, oral
language, and academic knowledge. The test provides a comprehensive system for measuring
general intellectual ability, specific cognitive abilities, scholastic aptitude, oral language, and
academic achievement. The WJ-ACH III was selected to be administered to Edward to gain
more information about his general academic performance that include the following skills: (1)
reading skills that include broad reading, basic reading skills, and reading comprehension, (2)
oral language skills that include listening comprehension and oral expression, (3) math skills
that include broad math, math calculation skills, and math reasoning, (4) written language skills
that include broad written language, basic writing skills, and written expression, and (5) an
academic knowledge cluster that assesses academic skills, academic fluency, academic
applications, and phoneme/grapheme knowledge.

Examiner Criteria Statements

In the opinion of the examiner:
Yes The scores obtained are valid representation of students current educational
performance levels.
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Yes The test(s) selected is a valid tool for the stated purpose and is valid for the student.
Yes Linguistic, cultural, and /or economic differences did not influence testing.

Note: If these criteria are not met, the examiner(s) should state which ones do not apply and
why.

Background Information

Familial background Information

Hannah lives at home with her biological parents where the primary language spoken is
American English. Her household includes her dad, mom, and brother who is 24 years old. Her
21-year-old sister now lives in Maryland while she attends college. Hannahs extended family is
extremely close and she sees all four of her grandparents weekly. Hannah is in the 7
th
grade at
Matawan Aberdeen Middle School.
She has a great group of friends. They enjoy baking together, taking pictures, and
making up dances. Hannah has been on her middle schools soccer team for the past two years.
Also, she plays for two travel soccer teams, one in Matawan and one in Middletown. Hannah is
currently practicing for the schools spring musical of Hairspray and this is her second school
musical she has been in. She is also involved in the middle school chorus. Hannah is apart of the
Girl Scout of America and has been since Kindergarten.

Educational background information

Hannah is currently a 7
th
grader at Matawan Aberdeen Middle School. Hannah has been
attending school in the Matawan Regional School District since Kindergarten. She has always
been in a general education classroom throughout her academic career. She has never received
any related or remedial services or received accommodations or modifications. Hannah is in
several enrichment classes this academic year and has been since 4
th
grade. She generally
excels in all subjects except for mathematics. Social Studies is her favorite subject in school.
Hannah is responsible when it comes to her assignments, but does procrastinate like most
middle school students do. She strives to do well in all of her classes and get extremely
frustrated when she doesnt do well on an assignment or exam. Hannah has not taken any
other educational achievement tests besides the current WJ III that was administered to her.

Behavioral Observations
The test was administered in our computer room at our house in New Jersey during
Hannahs spring break. We sat next to each other on the floor, resting on the coffee table, with
our backs against the couch. While administering the assessment to Hannah, she remained
focus in the beginning but quickly was distracted. Our father was sitting on the computer on the
phone with work and our mother was down stairs, but Hannah kept yelling to her. I did my best
to keep Hannah on task and get the test moving.
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During the timed Letter-Word Identification subtest, Test 1, Hannah had a little difficulty
pronouncing the words for her age level. She was to pronounce words one age level below
perfectly but had some trouble when it came to the words at her age level and higher. After she
couldnt pronounce three in a row she asked if she could stop because she didnt know them,
but I just told her to keep going and do the best she could.

Hannah did exceptionally well on the Reading Fluency subtest, Test 2. She didnt
complete the last page of the subtest but still scored way above her age level. She worked fast
and thoroughly during this entire test, especially since she knew it was being timed. On the
third subtest of Story Recall, Hannah performed a little below her age level. She wasnt focused
while this test was going on. She was able to restate the main idea of the stories but had
trouble with details. This same behavior showed on subtest 4, Understanding Directions.
Hannah would try to point at the pictures before the recording was done, which caused her to
miss parts of the directions.

During subset 5, Calculation, I noticed Hannah was getting a little antsy. From my
interview I knew she didnt like math so Im assuming that could be why. She skipped around to
the questions she knew best but even thought she didnt finish the entire subtest; she still
performed well. The Math Fluency subtest, Test 6, seemed easier for Hannah. Although she did
not finish, she was more at ease than during subtest 5. She even corrected herself a few times
during the subtest. One answer she self corrected was 4-4=0 and by her answer I could tell she
was writing 8 first and changed it into a 0.

During Spelling, Test 7, Hannah displayed less stress than she did on the math subtests.
Hannah spelled the word saucer as sauser and also spelled the word concrete, concreate.
When we got to question number 44, Hannah started getting frustrated but I just told her to
keep going and she was doing great.

Tests 8 and 9, Writing Fluency and Passage Comprehension, were much more laid back
for Elizabeth. Hannahs sentences showed she was getting tired of doing the test and some of
them did not make any sense. On number 32, she wrote the sentence The running house is on
fire. The picture shows a man running out of the house that is on fire, but Hannah just wanted
to move on and use the three words given so she didnt pay attention to the details of the
picture provided. Hannah did not finish the test but the time factor did not seem to faze her
while she was working. Test 9, Passage Comprehension, was also easy for Hannah. By her
answers, I could tell she was getting bored and just wanted to finish. She still performed well on
this subtest though.

During subtests 10 and 11, Applied Problems and Writing Samples, Hannah knew the
test was almost over so started to rush through the subtest. I think she realized that once she
got a certain amount wrong we were finished with the subtest. Hannah seemed stressed on the
applied problems subtest but she still performed average for her age level. The Writing Sample
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subtest was successful because she expressed the fact that she was so happy to be done with
the mathematics portion of the test.

Hannah was extremely nervous about the last subtest, Story Recall-Delayed, test 12,
when I gave her the directions. She stated, Im not going to remember any of this, I couldnt
even remember it right after they told me the story the first time! When we started the
subtest, she was right. She kind of remembered the basic information that was told in each
story but still couldnt remember the details needed to receive most of the points.

Results

Reading Assessment Results

The Broad Reading cluster provides a comprehensive measure of reading achievement
including basic reading skills and reading comprehension. The Standard Battery of the
Woodcock-Johnson includes the following subtests: (1) Letter-Word Identification, (2) Reading
Fluency, and (3) Passage Comprehension was administered to Hannah Montana.

The Letter-Word Identification subtest measures word identification skills. Hannah was
required to identify letters and to pronounce words correctly. Hannahs performance on this
task was in the 12 years and 4 month age equivalency level. The Reading Fluency subtest
measures the ability to quickly read simple sentences and decide if the sentences are true.
Hannahs performance for this task was in the 18 years and one month age equivalency level.
The Passage Comprehension subtest measures the ability to match the pictographic
representation of a word with an actual picture of the object. In addition, Hannah was required
to point to a picture represented by a phrase. Then Hannah was required to read a short
passage and identify a missing key word that makes sense in the content of that passage.
Hannahs performance on this subtest was in the 12 years and 11 months age equivalency level.

Mathematics Assessment Results

The Broad Math cluster provides a comprehensive measure of math achievement
including problem solving, numeration, fluency, and reasoning. For the Standard Battery, the
following tests were administered: (1) Calculation, (2) Math Fluency, and (3) Applied Problems.

The Calculation subtest is a measure of computational skills and automaticity with basic
math facts and provides a measure of basic mathematical skills. This subtest required Hannah
to accurately perform mathematical computations. Also included are problems requiring
manipulation of fractions and more advanced calculations using algebra, geometry,
trigonometry, and calculus. Hannahs performance on the Calculation section was in the 14
years and 4 months age equivalency level. The Math Fluency subtest measures the ability to
solve simple addition, subtraction, and multiplication facts quickly. For this test, Hannahs
performance was in the 15 years and 4 months age equivalency level. The Applied Problems
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test required Hannah to understand and solve practical mathematics problems that are
presented orally. Pictures or the written problem is available for the student to see. The
problems required Hannah to listen to the problem, recognize the procedures to be followed,
and them perform relatively simple calculations. Hannahs performance on this subtest was in
the 12 years and 7 months age equivalency level.

Oral Language Assessment Results

The Oral Language cluster provides a comprehensive measure of oral expression and
listening comprehension. For the Standard Battery, two tests are administered, Story Recall and
Understanding Directions.

The Story Recall subtest measures aspects of oral language including language
development and meaningful memory. During this portion of the test, Hannah was required to
recall increasingly complex stories that are presented on an audiotape and Hannahs
performance in this area was in the 12 years and 11 months age equivalency level. On the
Understanding Directions subtest is an oral language measure. The task required Hannah to
listen to a sequence of audiotaped instructions and then follow the directions by pointing to
various objects in a colored picture. Hannahs performance on this task was in the 11 years and
one month age equivalency level

Written Language Assessment Results

The Broad Written Language cluster provides a comprehensive measure of written
language achievement including spelling of single-word responses, fluency of production, and
quality of expression. The tests administered on the Standard Battery included Spelling,
Writing Fluency, and Writing Samples.

The Spelling subtest is a measure of the ability to write orally presented words
correctly. Test items measure prewriting skills and required Hannah to produce uppercase and
lowercase letters, and to spell words correctly. Hannahs performance was in the 15 years and
10 months age equivalency level. The Writing Fluency subtest measures skill in formulating and
writing simple sentences quickly. Hannahs performance on this subtest was in the 17 years age
equivalency level. Each sentence must include a set of three stimulus words and describe an
accompanying picture. The Writing Samples subtest measures skill in writing responses to a
variety of demands. Hannahs performance on this task was in the 17 years and 5 months age
equivalency level.

Interpretation of Assessment Findings
Hannah Montanas reading assessment results fluctuated around where her age-level
should be. Hannah is 13 years and 5 months and her broad reading cluster age-level score was
12 years and 9 months. On her basic reading skills, she received a 13 years and 2 months score,
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which is closer to her actual age level. On the first test administered, Letter-Word Identification,
she received a score of just 12 years and one month, which is a year and 4 months below her
actual age. I believe since shes never taken any other educational achievement tests, she didnt
know what to expect which caused her to score below age-level. Her Passage Comprehension
score provided that she even though she struggled a little with recognizing some words; she
was still able to comprehend well above her age-level peers, scoring at 16 years and 11 months.
Her Reading Fluency score of 12 years matched her letter-word identification scores. Even
though her scores on the three reading subtests fluctuated, she scored average on every test.

Hannahs math assessment scores were average as well. Her broad mathematics cluster
score was a 13 years and 8 months, which was surprising since she was stressed and antsy on
every math subtest she took and stated multiple times that math was her least favorite subject.
All of her subtest scores were above her age-level, except for Applied Problems, which was a
score of 12 years and 7 months. She was stressed during this section of the test so her score
below age-level is understandable. On Calculations, Hannah received an age-level score of 13
years and 9 months, which was the closest score to her actual age-level she received on the WJ
III. Her Math Fluency score was above age-level at 15 years and 6 months. She told me that that
section of the WJ III reminded her of mad minutes she has been doing since 1
st
grade. The
problems were addition, subtraction, and multiplication, which she has been mastering since a
very young age. Even though Hannah expressed to me that she doesnt like math and it is her
worse subject in school, her scores on the math subtests prove that she isnt as bad at mad as
she believes and is average for her age-level.

On the oral language subtest, Hannahs scores varied just like her reading assessment
scores. She scored 12 years and 9 months for over all oral language which is a little below her
actual age of 13 years and 5 months. I believe her score was below her actual age because her
Story Recall and Understanding Directions scores were almost 10 years apart. She scored >20
on Story Recall, which is almost 7 years above her actual grade level. While her Understanding
Directions score was only 11 years and one month, which is below her actual age-level. I believe
her Understanding Direction score was so low was because she tried to rush through that
section which made her miss parts of the directions. Hannahs written language scores were all
above her age-level. She received scores all above her actual age-level on every subtest.

Overall, Hannahs scores did vary but were average for her age-level. She struggled in
sections such as Understanding Directions, Letter-Word Identification, and Reading Fluency but
still scored average on all those subtests. She excelled in subtests such as Spelling, Writing
Fluency, and Writing Samples. Her results show she is a typically developing 13 year-old and
even though she struggled on certain subjects, I believe it was because she didnt want to take
the test. If she was more focused on the WJ III, I feel like her scores would have been all age-
level and above.



K. Incorvaia 8
Summary/Discussion

Hannah is a 13 years, 5 months, 24 days student at Matawan Aberdeen Middle School
who is being assessed as a requirement for the examiner. This assessment is one component of
that evaluation. When compared to his or her peers at his or her grade level, Hannahs
performance is in the average range for every area of the test. In the broad writing language
areas, Hannahs performance excelled compared to the other areas, but still fell in the average
range. On the subtests of Letter-Word Identification, Passage Comprehension, Reading Fluency,
Calculation, Math Fluency, Applied Problems, Story Recall, Understanding Directions, Spelling,
Writing Fluency, and Writing Samples Hannahs scores fell in the average scores for her age-
level. Her scores on the broad writing language were higher than other subtest scores reflected
why her favorite subject in school is Social Studies. In Social Studies, she has to write a lot of
papers and learn about places and events for all over the world. Having higher Spelling, Writing
Fluency, and Writing Samples scores show that Social Studies probably comes easy to Hannah,
which is why she likes it best. Hannahs high scores in math fluency show that she does better
with simple equations than recalling complex mathematics problems that involve harder
mathematic equations and other aspects of math. Her low scores in Understanding Directions, I
believe was because she didnt want to continue working on this test. She was no longer
focused and just tried to rush through the problems.
In the future when I have to administer this test, I will definitely change a few details in
the way I administer it. First, I would pay more attention to the body language and stress of the
student. I should have realized right from the beginning that Hannah wasnt into helping me
with my assignment and should have tested my brother instead. Since Hannah wasnt
concentrated on the test and kept rushing through, her scores werent as high as I expected
them to be.
These assessment results will be presented to the Eligibility Committee to assist in
determining if Hannah requires special education services. Additionally, these results should be
used with all other available information when making a decision regarding Hannahs eligibility
for special education services.

Recommendations and/or Proposed I.E.P. Goals

1. It is recommended that Hannah Montana receive pullout instruction three a week until
she reached her age equivalency on understanding directions. In this pullout instruction,
Hannah will receive step by step directions to complete a task, while will get harder over
time to help her reach her goal.
2. It is recommended that Hannah Montana be given visual prompts to help her with
letter-word identification. The visual prompts will include words similar to the ones she
got wrong on the WJ III to help improve her letter-word identification.
3. It is recommended that Hannah Montana receive extra time on her math assessments
that have applied mathematics problems on them so she can take her time to really
think about the problem and how to solve the answer.
4. It is recommended that Hannah Montana receive extra time on her reading assessments
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that test reading fluency, allowing her to have time to re-read questions and improve
her reading fluency score.
5. It is recommended that Hannah Montana receive pullout instruction twice a week to
receive assistance with her letter-word identification and reading fluency until she
achieves age level. After a month of pullout instruction, Hannah Montana will be
assessed to monitor her process by receiving the pullout instruction.


_______Kristen Incorvaia___________ _______4-28-14________
Kristen Incorvaia - Towson University Date
Matawan Aberdeen Regional School District


SUMMARY OF SCORES

WOODCOCK-JOHNSON III, FORM A TESTS OF ACHIEVEMENT
Name of Student: Hannah Montana Date Administer: April 18, 2014

Age
Equivalent
(AE)
Grade
Equivale
nt (GE)
Standard
Score
(SS)
PR Classification
BROAD READING CLUSTER 12-9 7.3 97 Average
BASIC READING SKILLS 13-2 7.7 99 Average
READING COMPREHENSION CLUSTER
Letter-Word Identification Letter-Word Identification 12-1 6.7 95 Average
Passage Comprehension 16-11 11.4 106 Average
Reading Fluency 12-0 6.6 92 Average
Word Attack
Reading Vocabulary
BROAD MATHEMATICS CLUSTER 13-8 8.2 101 Average
MATHEMATICS CALCULATION CLUSTER
MATHEMATICS REASONING CLUSTER
Calculation 13-9 8.3 101 Average
Math Fluency 15-6 10.0 107 Average
Applied Problems 12-7 7.2 98 Average
Quantitative Concepts
ORAL LANGUAGE 12-9 7.3 98 Average
Story Recall >20 13.0 108 Average
Understanding Directions 11-1 5.7 94 Average
BROAD WRITTEN LANGUAGE 15-4 9.9 107 Average
BASIC WRITING SKILLS
WRITTEN EXPRESSION CLUSTER
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Spelling 14-9 9.3 104 Average
Editing
Writing Fluency 15-5 9.9 107 Average
Writing Samples 16-6 11.0 107 Average

STANDARD SCORES (SS) and CLASSIFICATIONS
131 and above falls in the Very Superior range
121 to 130 fall in the Superior range
111 to 120 fall in the High Average range
90 to 110 fall in the Average range
80 to 89 fall in the Low Average range
70 to 79 fall in the Low range
<70 fall in the Very Low range

Reflection:

The Woodcock-Johnson was the first time I ever administered a formal assessment. Ive
actually taken the WJ-III once before for my roommate who is a dual Special Ed/ Elementary Ed
major here at Towson University. Before this class and learning about formal assessments, I
didnt know much about what went into them, the vocabulary used in formal assessments, or
how they were graded.
Administering this formal assessment enhanced my understanding of the CEC Standard
6 Professional Learning and Ethical Practice. I believe this standard is very important to
understand because it is important for all teachers to learn to be professional in every situation
especially when administering an assessment. Since we got to pick the person we administered
our WJ-III to, being professional was a struggle but still something I knew I had to do. When
administering test it is important to be fair and equal to all examinees to avoid bias. Being able
to separate personal feelings and professional feelings is extremely important for all teachers to
do. This standard supports that we have to be able to be professional and ethical in all
situations dealing with our future profession as a teacher. InTASC standard states that we will
understand assessments. Administering the WJ-III, allowed me to get to practice the vocabulary
terms most assessments use such finding a basal and ceiling score. It is one thing to know what
the terms mean but it is another thing to actually have to find those two scores. Also, by
administering this assessment I learned how important it is to not pay attention only the test
but also how the examinee acts during each subtest.
Generating the Educational Achievement Report enhanced my understanding of the
Psycho-Educational process. It is one thing to know there are five different types of Psycho-
Educational assessments but being able to administer one really helped me understand why
there are five different assessments. The Woodcock-Johnson III falls under the educational
assessment part of the Psycho-Educational process, which measures school performance and
academic achievement. The subtests that are involved in the WJ-III measure areas of academics
that are vital in succeed in all subjects in school. Reading, mathematics, oral, and written
language are necessary to know to be well off in everyday life as well in school.
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I know that in my future I am going to have to administer many assessments just like the
Woodcock-Johnson III. Practicing administering it was definitely helpful. I also believe that since
I was given the WJ III a little over a year ago, that help me as well. I knew how the test was from
the other side and how my roommate administered it to me so I was able to do it in a way I
wish I had received it as an examinee. For the future, I think its important to administer any
type of assessment in a distraction free setting, preferably with the examinee sitting in a desk. I
was also sitting next to my examinee but for the future I should be sitting across from he or she.
Also, I would pay more attention to the body language and stress of the student and not just
the actual assessment. I didnt have trouble with the CD since I used my computer and my
classmates told me that there was more than one story on each part. Before I administer
another assessment, I want to make sure Im more knowledgeable about that particular
assessment. There were times I was a little confused while I was administering the test, so for
next time I think I would be more professional if I didnt have to look back or stop the exam.
Figuring out how to score the exam was fairly easy and so was doing the Compuscore portion. I
like working with numbers and computers so hope with every assessment I administer, Ill feel
the same way about scoring. Administering the WJ-III not only taught me a lot about my
examinee but also a lot about myself as a future educator.