Introduction to the WIAT-III

a standardized academic achievement test used to measure

previously learned knowledge in the areas of Reading,
Written Language, Mathematics, and Oral Language. The
scores are based on age norms.

Uses and limitations

suitable for use in clinical, educational and research settings.

It can be used to identify the academic strengths and weaknesses individuals
possess
inform and aid intervention planning.
provide meaningful information to assist with diagnostic, eligibility, placement,
and intervention decisions.
should be interpreted in combination with the evaluation and review of the
individuals background, personality, current emotional functioning, and attention
and motivation levels.
Like all assessment instruments, the WIAT-II has certain limitations. Academic
achievement can be conceptualised and assessed in many different ways. As a
result, it is impossible to develop an instrument that assesses all components of
achievement within the constraints of a typical standardized assessment situation.
The WIAT-II measures aspects of the learning process that take place in the
traditional academic setting in the areas of reading, writing, mathematics, and oral
language. Although the WIAT-II item content encompasses a wide range of skills and
concepts, it was not designed as a measure of academic giftedness in older
adolescents or adults.

WIAT-III: Scoring
Standard Scoring and Percentile Rank

WIAT-III: Whats New? Materials

Record Form
Longer 52 pages, but space is
well-used to improve ease of
administration
All administration and item
directions are in the Record Form;
no need to refer to the manual
during testing

Quick Administration Guide for Each

Subtest on Record Form

General Directions for Each

Subtest on Record Form

Correct Answer Key for Each

Subtest Item on Record Form

WIAT-III: Whats New? Materials

Stimulus Booklet
Only one booklet, not two
Contains only items; no subtest
directions in easel
Items on both sides of easel pages;
work through one side then flip
over to continue
More durable construction

WIAT-III: Whats New? Materials

Oral Reading Fluency Booklet

Durable, reusable, washable
booklet; student reads from this
booklet

Word Reading and Pseudoword

Decoding Cards
New items but no design changes

WIAT-III: Whats New? Materials

Response Booklet
Longer - 32 pages
Used for 9 different Subtests
Improved Item layout for
Numerical Operations

WIAT-III: Whats New? Materials

Examiners Manual
Administration and scoring;
analysis and interpretation
Not used for test administration
Appendices contain expanded
scoring guidelines for specific
subtests

WIAT-III: Whats New? Materials

Technical Manual on CD
only
Contains Norms Tables
Information about
psychometric properties

WIAT-III: Whats New? Materials

Scoring Assistant
Provided as part of basic kit
Expanded capabilities
Item Scoring (interactive scoring
guide for Essay Composition)
Item skill analyses
Goal & Objective statements

Derived Scores for

Composites and Subtests

Standard Score
Percentile Rank
Normal Curve Equivalent
Stanines

Grade Equivalent
Age Equivalent
Growth Scale Values

Status
Scores

Growth
Scores

Assessment in a Three Tier Model

Educators need to be
aware of psychometric
pitfalls in attempting to
assess response to
intervention using standard
scores from normreferenced tests.
16

Attempting to Assess Response to

Intervention Using Standard Scores
100
100
?
78

Time 1

Time 2
17

Attempting to Assess Response to

Intervention Using Standard Scores

100
100
78
78

Time 1

Time 2
18

Attempting to Assess Response to

Intervention Using Standard Scores
100

100
78

Time 1

78
?

Time 2
19

Attempting to Assess Response to

Intervention Using Standard Scores
100
100

78
Time 1

78
70
Time 2
20

Attempting to Assess Response to

Intervention Using Standard Scores
The score graphs demonstrate the
fact that the use of age- or gradereferenced standard scores to
monitor performance across time
will not effectively characterize
progress in situations where the
amount of progress made is less than
the average amount of progress
made by same-age or same-grade
peers.
21

Constructing Grade Equivalents

30
25
20
15

Interpolate

10
0

K.6

1.6

2.6 3.6
2.9

4.6

5.6

6.6

Word Reading Subtest

109 (6.3)

100
82

100

102 (7.1)
100

(1.6)

Time 1
11/03
Grade 4.3

Time 2
6/04
Grade 5.10

Time 3
3/06
Grade 7.7

23

WIAT-III: Whats New?

Growth Scale Values

Growth Scale Values can be used

to monitor progress instead of
Standard Scores or Grade
Equivalent
Grow Scale Values are
psychometrically sound and
reflect change in a more accurate
manner than Grade Equivalents

Assessing Response to Intervention

Using Growth Scale Values

503
453
445
360

Time 1

Time 2
25

WIAT-III: Whats New?

Growth Scale Values

When interpreting student

performance:
Use Standard Scores to report
how the student is performing
compared to same age or same
grade peers
Use Growth Scale Values to
reflect intra-individual growth

Subtest Administration Order

Whenever possible, subtests should be
administered according to the order of
subtests in the Record Form
Simply skip any unwanted subtests

Alterations to the order should be based

on clinical need (not examiner
preference)
Every effort should be made to
administer subtests in one session.

Start and Stop Points

Generally acceptable to choose an earlier
or later start point if the gradeappropriate start point is too
easy/difficult
HOWEVER If you choose an earlier start
point and then child gets credit on gradeappropriate start item and next 2 items
THEN full credit is rewarded on all
items preceding grade-appropriate start
point

ERASERS - WHY NOT???

The student must write his or her
responses using a pencil without an
eraser. Students who participated in the
standardization sample were required to
use pencils without erasers because
erasure marks can make the students
response difficult to read and score. FOR
THIS REASON, STUDENTS MUST CORRECT
ERRORS BY MARKING OUT AND
REWRITING.

WIAT-III: Whats New?

Subtests and Scores

Reading
5 Subtests; 9 Scores

Oral Language
2 Subtests; 7 Scores

Written Expression
4 Subtests; 9 Scores

Mathematics
5 Subtests; 5 Scores

Reading Subtests

Reading Subtests
Early Reading Skills
Word Reading

Word Reading

Pseudoword
Decoding

Pseudoword
Decoding

Reading
Comprehension

Reading
Comprehension
Oral Reading Fluency

Reading Scores
Early Reading Skills
Word Reading

Pseudoword
Decoding
Reading
Comprehension
Oral Reading Fluency

Word Reading Rate

Pseudoword
Decoding Rate

OR Accuracy
OR Rate

Written Expression
Subtests

Written Expression Subtests

Spelling

Spelling
Alphabet Writing Fluency

Written
Expression

Sentence Composition
Essay Composition

Written Expression Scores

Spelling

Alphabet Writing
Fluency
Sentence
Composition
Essay
Composition

Sentence Combining
Sentence Building
Word Count
Theme Dev & Text Org

Grammar & Mechanics

Oral Language
Subtests

Oral Language Subtests

Listening
Comprehension

Oral
Expression

Listening
Comprehension

Oral
Expression

Oral Expression Scores

Listening
Comprehension

Oral
Expression

Receptive Vocabulary
Oral Discourse
Comprehension
Expressive Vocabulary
Oral Word Fluency
Sentence Repetition

Mathematics
Subtests

Math Subtests
Numerical
Operations

Numerical
Operations

Math
Reasoning

Math
Problem
Solving
Math Fluency - Addition
Math Fluency - Subtraction
Math Fluency - Multiplication

Math Scores
Numerical
Operations
Math
Problem
Solving

Math Fluency - Addition

Math Fluency - Subtraction
Math Fluency - Multiplication

Achievement Testing vs
Diagnostic Skill Assessment

Achievement testing indicates

overall level of performance in
a very global manner
Diagnostic skills assessment
identifies specific component
skill strengths and weaknesses
Copyright 2007 George McCloskey, Ph.D.

43

Achievement Testing vs
Diagnostic Skill Assessment

Achievement testing focuses

on composite scores
Diagnostic skills assessment
focuses on subtest and
process scores
Copyright 2007 George McCloskey, Ph.D.

44

Interpretive Levels Framework

Global Composite
Level

Specific Composite Indexes /

Clinical Clusters Level
Subtest Level
Item Level
Task Cognitive
Capacities
Level

Copyright 2007 George McCloskey,

Ph.D.

45

Reading Subtests

Early Reading Skills

Item types originally included on WIAT-II
Word Reading Subtest (Items 1-47):
Letter Names (Items 1-11)
Letter-Sound Relationship (Items 12,
13, 27-29)
Rhyming (Items 14-17)
Sound Awareness (Items 18-24)
Sound Blending (Items 25, 26)
Orthographic Awareness (Items 30-34)

Early Reading Skills

Grades PK-3
34 Items (47 Items on WIAT-II)
All students start with Sample A and
Item 1
Administer ALL subtest items
Use routinely for PK-1, for low
functioning in grades 2 & 3
Total Raw Score to Standard Score

Word Reading
Grades 1-12
75 Items (84 Items on WIAT-II)
All students start with Item 1
Discontinue after 4 items (7 on
WIAT-II)
Time and Record number of items
completed in first 30 seconds

Word Reading
Student are told to read words aloud but
not to read as quickly as possible
Students can use their fingers but do not
provide materials for place marking
Credit should be given for regional or
dialectal pronunciations of words
Pronunciations must be fluent to receive
credit. For dysfluent attempt, say Say it
all together. If 2nd attempt not fluent,
score 0.

Word Reading

Total Raw Score to

Standard Score
Words Read in 30 seconds
to Word Reading Speed
Cumulative Percentage

Pseudoword Decoding
Grades 1-12
52 Items (55 Items on WIAT-II)
Items revised to measure a broader range
of symbol-sound relationships
All students start with Item 1
Discontinue after 4 items (7 on WIAT-II)
Time and Record number of items
completed in first 30 seconds

Pseudoword Decoding
Student are told to decode words aloud
but not to decode as quickly as possible
Students can use their fingers but do not
provide materials for place marking
Credit should be given for regional or
dialectal pronunciations of words
Pronunciations must be fluent to receive
credit. For dysfluent attempt, say Say it
all together. If 2nd attempt not fluent,
score 0.

Pseudoword Decoding
Total Raw Score to Standard
Score
Nonsense Words Decoded in
30 seconds to Pseudoword
Decoding Speed Cumulative
Percentage

Reading Comprehension
Grades 1-12
84 Items (140 Items on WIAT-II)
Pre-passage items replaced with a new
lower level reading passage
All other passages retained from WIAT-II
Oral reading sentence items deleted
Supplemental scores dropped
Administered in item sets like WIAT-II

Reading Comprehension
Start administration with grade level
item set; administer all items in the set
Can start one set lower if student is
known to be a very poor reader;
otherwise, use reverse rule
Can reverse only a maximum of 3 levels
below grade level
Reverse Rule: less than 2 points earned
on items from 1st passage

Reading Comprehension
Total Raw Score to Weighted
Raw Score to Standard Score
Note: The Weighted Raw
Score Table is reversed from
WIAT-II; Weighted Scores in
outside column; Raw scores
in body of table

Reading Comprehension

Reading Comprehension
If the student performs poorly on
lower item set
Probably means they have a weakness
in comprehension

OR If the student performs well on

lower item set
Probably means they have a weakness
in word identification and/or decoding
and/or vocabulary

Reading Comprehension
While Reading Comprehension Subtest Scores, in
general, correlate highly between measures such as
the WIAT-III, KTEA-II, and WJ-III, scores for
individual students can vary greatly due to:
Differences in Output Demands (free response
[WIAT-II, KTEA-II] vs cloze [WJ-III])
Differences in Processing Demands (e.g.,
literal vs inferential item types and passage
length variations resulting in different demands
for reasoning, reading speed, working memory,
and executive functions)

Oral Reading Fluency

Grades 1-12
Student reads two passages
Administer grade level passages
Can start one grade level lower if student
is known to be a very poor reader;
otherwise, use reverse rule
Reverse rule: If reading of 1st passage
takes longer than the reverse rule time
limit go back one level

Oral Reading Fluency

Provide unknown words after 5 seconds
A comprehension question is asked after
the reading; these questions are not
scored formally; the items are used to
cue the student to read at a level that
engages comprehension
Student reads entire passage; record the
total reading time per passage
Keep track of and record word addition
errors and other word reading errors

Oral Reading Fluency

Oral Reading Fluency Administration Steps:
1. Begin timing as student begins reading

2. Record errors as student reads

Addition Errors: Any word added
Other Errors: Words supplied after 5
of attempted reading of word (mark
with G for given); mispronunciations,
substitutions, omissions and
transpositions

Oral Reading Fluency

Oral Reading Fluency

Oral Reading Fluency Administration Steps:

3. End timing as student finishes

passage and record stop time
4. Repeat administration steps for 2nd
passage
5. Transfer Completion Time, Addition
Errors, Other Errors, and Word Count
Totals to the ORF Passage Subtotal
Raw Scores Table on Page 46

Oral Reading Fluency

Oral Reading Fluency Administration Steps:

6. Calculate Oral Reading Fluency Total

Raw Score, Oral Reading Accuracy Total
Raw Score, and Oral Reading Rate Total
Raw Score
7. Use Total Raw Scores to find
Weighted Raw Scores in Appendices
A.2, A.3 and A.4
8. Convert Weighted Raw Scores to
Standard Scores using Table B.1 or C.1

Written Expression
Subtests

Alphabet Writing Fluency

Grades PK-3 Only
Student writes letters of the
alphabet for 30
Raw Score is number of legible
letters produced in 30
If all letters are made before 30
record completion time

Alphabet Writing Fluency

Scoring Criteria are in Appendix B.1
Scoring Criteria are extremely
flexible in order to reduce scoring
time and difficulty
Typically used for Grades PK-2, can
be used for lower functioning 3rd
graders

Spelling
Grades K-12
First 5 items are pre-spelling skills
(12 items on WIAT-II)
63 Items (53 Items on WIAT-II)
Start at Grade Level Start Point
Can start 1 level below but give full
credit if basal at Grade Level Start
Point is met

Spelling
Basal: score of 1 on all of the first
three items in Start Point Set
Reverse Rule: Incorrect on any of first 3
items administered; give items in
reverse order until basal is met
Discontinue after 4 items (7 on WIAT-II)
Raw Score to Standard Score
Intra-item error analysis optional

Sentence Composition
Grades 1-12
5 Sentence Combining Items (Most
from WIAT-II) and 7 Sentence Building
Items (Write a sentence using the
word ___)
All students start with Sentence
Combining Sample A and Items 1 and 2
Discontinue Sentence Combining if
score of 0 on first 2 items

Sentence Composition
If at least 1 point is earned on first 2
items, administer ALL remaining
Sentence Combining items
After completing Sentence
Combining, ALL students take
Sentence Building Sample A and
Items 1 and 2
Discontinue Sentence Building if
score of 0 on first 2 items

Sentence Composition
If at least 1 point is earned on first 2
item, administer ALL remaining
Sentence Building items
Separate Raw Scores and Standard
Scores for Sentence Combining and
Sentence Building
Add SC and SB standard scores and
use as Raw Score to obtain Sentence
Composition Standard Score

Sentence Composition
Sentence Composition Scoring: Appendix
B.2 provides Basic Rules of Written
Grammar and Mechanics
Sentence Combining Scoring (Appendix
B.3): Prerequisite Scoring Criteria
Does response include essential information?
Does response simply restate original
sentences?
Does response have more than one sentence,
run-on sentence or sentence fragment?

Sentence Composition
Sentence Combining: If a sentence does
not meet all 3 Prerequisite Criteria, score
the sentence 0
Sentence Combining: If a sentence does
meet all 3 Prerequisite Criteria, use the
additional scoring criteria to determine the
raw score for each scoring criterion:
Semantics & Grammar
Mechanics
Extra Credit

Sentence Composition
Sentence Building Scoring (Appendix B.4):
Prerequisite Scoring Criteria
Does response include the target word?
Is the response a fragmented sentence?
Is the target word use in a title or as the
subject or object of the sentence?

Sentence Building: If a sentence does not

meet all 3 Prerequisite Criteria, score the
sentence 0

Sentence Composition
Sentence Building: If a sentence does
meet all 3 Prerequisite Criteria, use
the additional scoring criteria to
determine the raw score for each
scoring criterion:
Semantics & Grammar
Mechanics
The Scoring Workbook provides
unscored and scored samples

Essay Composition
Grades 3-12
Writing from a prompt; identical to
the WIAT-II Paragraph sub-item (My
favorite game is)
All students write using same prompt
10 minutes maximum time
Scoring Criteria in Appendix B.5 and
B.6

Essay Composition
Essays are scored for:
Word Count
Theme Development and Organization
Introduction (0-2)
Conclusion (0-2)
Paragraphs (0-5)
Transitions (0-5)
Reasons Why (0-3)
Elaborations (0-3)

Grammar and Mechanics

Essay Composition
The Scoring Workbook
provides unscored and scored
samples
The Scoring Assistant Includes
an interactive scoring guide
that can be used to complete
the scoring process

Essay Composition
Raw Scores for Word Count, Theme
Development & Text Organization
(TDTO) and Grammar & Mechanics are
converted into Standard Scores using
B.1 or C.1
Word Count and TDTO Standard Scores
are summed to derive the Essay
Composition Raw Score to obtain the
Essay Composition Standard Score in
B.1 of C.1

Oral Language
Subtests

Listening Comprehension
Grades PK-12
Receptive Vocabulary retained
19 items (16 items on WIAT-II)
Oral Discourse Comprehension (27
items) replaces Sentence
Comprehension format (10 items)
Expressive Vocabulary moved to
Oral Expression Subtest

Listening Comprehension
ALL students start with Receptive
Vocabulary (RV) Item 1
Discontinue RV after 4 consecutive
scores of 0
All students go on to Oral Discourse
Comprehension (ODC)
ODC administered best using the
audio CD

Listening Comprehension
Grades PK-3 start with Item 1;
Grades 4-12 start with Item 6
All items scored objectively 0 or 1
Apply Reverse Rule for Grades 4-12,
move backward until 3 consecutive
scores of 1 are obtained
Discontinue ODC after 4 consecutive
scores of 0

Listening Comprehension
Raw Scores for RV and ODC are
converted into Standard Scores for
each using B.1 or C.1
RV and ODC Standard Scores are
summed to derive the Listening
Comprehension Raw Score to obtain
the Listening Comprehension
Standard Score in B.1 of C.1

Oral Expression
Grades PK-12
Oral Word Fluency Expanded into
a sub-area (2 items instead of 1)
Sentence Repetition expanded to
15 items (9 items on WIAT-II)
Expressive Vocabulary expanded
to 17 items and moved to OE
from LC

Oral Expression
ALL students start with Expressive
Vocabulary (EV) Item 1
Discontinue EV after 4 consecutive
scores of 0
ALL students go on to Oral Word
Fluency (OWF) and take both items
ALL students go on to Sentence
Repetition (SR) and start with Sample
A and Item 1

Oral Expression
Discontinue SR after 4 consecutive
scores of 0
Raw Scores for EV and OWF and SR are
converted into Standard Scores for each
using B.1 or C.1
EV and OWF and SR Standard Scores are
summed to derive the Oral Expression
Raw Score to obtain the Oral Expression
Standard Score in B.1 of C.1

Mathematics
Subtests

Math Problem Solving

Grades PK-12
Name changed from Math
Reasoning
Items increased to 72 (67 items
on the WIAT-II)
Pencil and paper are permitted,
but calculators are not

Math Problem Solving

Start points vary based on Grade Level
Basal: score of 1 on first three items in
Start Point Set
Reverse Rule: Incorrect on any of first 3
items administered; give items in reverse
order until basal is met.
Discontinue after 4 items (6 on WIAT-II)
Raw Score to Standard Score

Numerical Operations
Grades K-12
Items increased to 61 (54 items on
the WIAT-II)
Starts with 7 Pre-calculation concept
items for Grades K-1
Start points vary based on Grade
Level
Items completed in Response Booklet

Numerical Operations
Basal: score of 1 on first three
items in Start Point Set
Reverse Rule: Incorrect on any of
first 3 items administered; give
items in reverse order until basal is
met.
Discontinue after 4 items (6 on
WIAT-II)
Raw Score to Standard Score

Math Fluency
Addition and Subtraction Grades
1-12; Multiplication Grades 3-12
Items completed in Response Booklet
Administer only 1 item set of each
Fluency Subtest; 60 second time
limit for all item sets

Referenced Resources
Berninger, V. & Richards, T. (2003).
Brain Literacy for Educators and
Psychologists. Academic Press
Marzano, Pickering, & Pollock
(2001). Classroom Instruction that
Works: Research-based Strategies
for Improving Student Achievement.
ASCD