ASSESSMENT RESULTS 1

Woodcock Johnson Reading Master Test Assessment

Taylor Hunter

Old Dominion University

ASSESSMENT RESULTS 2

I. Identifying Data

Examinee Name: Adam Spawn

Date of Birth: June 13, 2003

Date of Examination: July 25, 2019

Chronological Age: 16.1

Current Grade Placement: Home Schooled (mother states 2-3 grade)

Examiner Name: Taylor Hunter

Form: B

Norm Used: Age

Instrument tool and reference: Woodcock Reading Master Test III

Woodcock, R. W., EdD. (2011). Woodcock Reading Mastery Tests(Third ed.). Bloomington,
MN: Pearson Executive Office.

II. Background Information

Adam Spawn is a 16-year-old male who is currently being homeschooled by his mother

and father. Adam has been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (low functioning). He spent

approximately 5 years in public school and was transferred to Secep Center because of

behavioral issues. Adam’s behavioral issues included hitting and aggressive behavior and it only

escalated when moved to Secep Center where his parents stated the faculty was unable to calm

him down or come up with appropriate measures to discourage this behavior. His parents

decided to remove him from this environment and has homeschooled him since then. Adams

behavior changed dramatically once home schooling began, he now rarely shows aggressive

behavior towards anyone including strangers, care takers, or his family.

ASSESSMENT RESULTS 3

Adam’s parents wanted the assessment to be conducted to measure where he is

academically for reading. His mother states reading is his most difficult subject and struggles the

most in reading comprehension although he can read with outstanding accuracy. As a result of

Adam’s autism, he is easily distracted and becomes very frustrated when he becomes

overwhelmed and he demonstrates this by grabbing on to his ears and reaching for his head

phones. Adam currently wears sound eliminating head phones that can connect to his cell phone

to watch videos, so he is able to calm himself down. Although, he struggles to verbally tell

someone he needs a break he gestures through his body language that is easily interpreted. He

also demonstrated proper manners and was able to finish the assessment in 2.5 hours knowing

there was an award at the end and was given several breaks throughout the assessment.
ASSESSMENT RESULTS 4

III. Test Results

Woodcock Reading Mastery Tests -mean: 100 SD: 15

Test/Cluster Raw Score A/E SS for 16:0 %R

Set 1 Grades PK-2

Phonological
Awareness
19 5:10 133 5%

Rapid Automatic
Naming 36
>6:0 145 77%

Letter Identification
17 >6:11 105 63%

Set 2 Grade 1-Adult

Word Identification
31 11:3 135 5%

Word Attack
13 8:2 127 1%

Word
Comprehension 12
7:0 145 1%

Passage
Comprehension
6 6:7 135 0.1%

Listening
Comprehension 3
<6:0 127 0.1%
ASSESSMENT RESULTS 5

IV. Test Interpretations

Adam was administered the Woodcock Reading Mastery Test at Tidewater Community

College library in a private room. When entering the room Adam’s mom asked him to say hello

to the examiner and to ask where the examiner would like him to sit. Adam in very literal terms

answered his mom “she wants me to sit in a chair” he proceeded to sit in a chair of his choosing.

When examiner asked Adam how he was feeling today he said happy. Before starting the

examiner asked him to remove his headphones so we could begin the assessment, in which

Adam happily obliged. Adam became easily distracted during the assessment and was redirected

several times throughout the assessment. He also needed several breaks throughout the test

because he became easily upset and overwhelmed by the questions being asked and would

demonstrate this through his body language. Adam took approximately 10 breaks varying from

3-15-minute increments. After, each break the examiner asked him if he was ready to begin and

reinforced, he was doing a good job.

Adam’s performance on the Woodcock Reading Mastery Test shows that he is

functioning below in reading compared to peers who are in his age category. Although, the

results show he is well below age level Adam performed well in word identification compared to

his actual grade level which his mom stated was in the first or second grade level. Adam word

identification is categorized as 11:3 for age equivalent showing his relative strength is in basic

skills when looking at the data table. In the data table his raw scores are also listed to

demonstrate how well he did in certain categories compared to the number of questions asked.

For example, in word identification again the examiner asked Adam 35 questions in which he

correctly answered 31 correct showing he is well above the second-grade level like previously
ASSESSMENT RESULTS 6

thought showing his proficiency is high. It is important to note although the data table shows he

is well below his age level does not mean he is not functioning well for his ability level.

Adam’s performance on the Woodcock Reading Mastery Test shows that he is

functioning below in reading comprehension. Adam’s mom stated this is where Adam struggles

the most and it was further demonstrated throughout the test. Adam is in the 0.1 percentile rank

for reading comprehension and his age equivalent is <6:0. His overall reading comprehension is

the weakest category when compared to other subtest areas that were given.

V. Summary and Recommendations

Adam is a 16-year-old Caucasian male who is diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.

Adam’s parents both homeschool him, but his mother spends the majority of the day with Adam.

Adam’s father is a professor at Regent University and his mother no longer works but was

previously a professor as well. He currently has no other brothers or sisters and resides in

Virginia Beach Virginia. Adam’s mom requested the Woodcock Reading Mastery Test because

she wanted to understand and learn where Adam’s reading ability is at. The mother expressed

she is worried about his reading comprehension and is unsure how to increase his reading

comprehension. She would like several interventions to better equip her as a homeschool teacher

to better Adam’s education. Adam’s mother currently stated Adam is at or about a first to second

grade reading level.

The results of the Woodcock Reading Mastery Test show that Adam is well behind in

reading compared to other students in his age group. The test results were examined by age

which is for the reason Adam in performing behind in reading in every subtest. Adam’s results

show he struggles the most in reading and listening comprehension with his percentile score for

each subtest: word comprehension, passage comprehension, and listening comprehension is less
ASSESSMENT RESULTS 7

that 1%. The data table is also broken up into two sections set 1 and set 2. The reason the data

table is broken up in these categories because set 1 is usually only given to students between pre-

kindergarten and second grade so the scoring was based off of students in those age ranks versus

Adam’s age. Adam’s word attack and word identification are the subtests he excelled the most

at. Adam’s age equivalent in these areas are 11:3 in word identification and 8:2 in word attack.

During these subtests Adam’s confidence seemed to excel as he was getting the questions correct

and he became quite excited. Like stated above Adam’s data shows he is behind when compared

to his age because of Adam’s disability he is working at his level which is the most important

and that is evident in Adam’s raw scores. To increase Adam’s reading ability, it is recommended

Adam’s mom uses several educational interventions to help expand Adam’s reading confidence

and ability.

Students with autism spectrum disorder should be taught in ways that are consistent with

research and target five components of evidence-based reading instruction: phonemic awareness,

phonics, reading fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension needs (Whalon, Otaiba, & Delano

2009). It is recommended based off of Adam’s assessment that his researched evidence-based

practices are participation in audiobooks, peer reading, and anaphoric cueing plus ABA

treatment. When these three interventions are applied to Adam’s daily learning the outcome will

be increased reading levels, on task behaviors, and social growth.

The first intervention that is recommended to Adam is the use of audiobooks in his daily

reading. Wilson Reading System combines human-narrated audio books with intense reading

instruction which leads to positive student outcomes (Wilson, 2019). It is recommended anytime

Adam participates in reading it is paired with an appropriate audiobook. Adam should listen to

the audiobook and follow along in print book as well. Listening to audiobooks can help bridge
ASSESSMENT RESULTS 8

the gap between decoding words, and assigning meaning (Wilson, 2019). When information is

assigned both visually and audibly it will reinforce word recognition and therefore improve

Adam’s reading fluency and support his comprehensive skills (Wilson, 2019). Based on Adam’s

results it is recommended the use of audiobooks be offered to him at all times during reading

regardless if it is group or independent reading activities.

It is also recommended that Adam participates in peer reading two to three times per

week. Peer reading will help Adam develop reading strategies, as well as, interact with peers to

help build his social skills. Evidence shows through peer reading students with autism spectrum

disorder have increased reading comprehension and challenging behaviors are decreased

(Reutebuch, Zein, Kim, Weinberg, & Vaughn, 2015). Once, the peer reviewed section has

concluded the student should answer questions that are scaffolded and allow the student with

autism to brain storm off of their peer reader. It is also recommended the student uses a graphic

organizer throughout the reading. Through the use of peer reading research has shown reading

fluency and comprehension is increased and confidence in social interactions with peers increase

as the students become more comfortable with one another (Reutebuch et al., 2015).

The final recommendation for Adam based of his assessment scores and behavior that

was observed is the use of anaphoric cueing plus ABA treatment. This intervention will result in

improved performance on reading measures and increase on-task behaviors for students who are

diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (Solis, Zein,

Vaughn McCulley, & Falcomata, 2016). Anaphoric cueing

involves teaching the student to identify the anaphora and to

relate them to their words while reading so they are able to

connect parts of the reading to one another (Solis et al.,

ASSESSMENT RESULTS 9

2016). The use of anaphoric cueing visual and graphic organizers is essential to implementing

this intervention. To the left is an example that can be used (Solis et al., 2016). The use of

anaphoric cueing and ABA treatment increased student’s percentage intervals in reading. It is

recommended Adam’s reading teacher implements the use of these cues throughout reading

lessons to help Adam increase his reading comprehension and help him increase his verbal skills.

In closing it is recommended that Adam be administered the Woodcock Reading Mastery

Test quarterly each year to determine if the above interventions are aligning with Adam’s goals

and help increase his reading ability. These interventions and quarterly test will address Adam’s

moms concern in regard to his reading comprehension. Along, with the following interventions it

is recommended Adam’s mom monitors his behaviors to determine if his unfavorable behaviors

decrease. As well as able to demonstrate and verbally tell his providers and care takers when he

is becoming stressed versus just using body language for example pulling on his ears. Adam is

working at his level and in using these measures the desirable outcome is to increase his reading

comprehension and produce favorable reading results.

ASSESSMENT RESULTS 10

References

Reutebuch, C. K., Zein, F. E., Kim, M. K., Weinberg, A. N., & Vaughn, S. (2015). Investigating
a reading comprehension intervention for high school students with autism spectrum
disorder: A pilot study. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders,9, 96-111.
doi:10.1016/j.rasd.2014.10.002

Solis, M., El Zein, F., Vaughn, S., McCulley, L. V., & Falcomata, T. S. (2016). Reading
Comprehension Interventions for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders: An
Alternating Treatments Comparison. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental
Disabilities, 31(4), 284–299. https://doi.org/10.1177/1088357615583464

Whalon, K. J., Al Otaiba, S., & Delano, M. E. (2009). Evidence-Based Reading Instruction for
Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Focus on Autism and Other
Developmental Disabilities, 24(1), 3–16. https://doi.org/10.1177/1088357608328515

Wilson, B. (n.d.). Learning Ally. Retrieved August 2, 2019, from https://learningally.org/About-

Us/Why-Audiobooks

Woodcock, R. W., EdD. (2011). Woodcock Reading Mastery Tests(Third ed.). Bloomington,
MN: Pearson Executive Office.