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D. Wechsler Wechsler Individual Achievement Test-Third Edition. San Antonio, TX: NCS Pearson, 2009.
Test Description
The Wechsler Individual Achievement Test-Third Edition (WIAT-III), published by Pearson, is a newly updated individual measure of academic achievement for students in Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 12 (age 4 years, 0 months to 19 years, 11 months). Suitable for use in educational, clinical, and research settings, the stated purposes of the WIAT-III are to identify student academic strengths and weaknesses, inform special education eligibility and/or placement decisions, inform the diagnosis of specific learning disabilities, and to aid in the design of instructional objectives and interventions.
The WIAT-III is classified as a Level B measure, and may be administered and interpreted by psychologists and nonpsychologists who have undergone formal training in standardized psychological or educational testing. Administration time varies from approximately 30 to 145 min according to the student's grade level, academic performance, test-taking ability, and behaviour during testing. Standard scores and percentiles are provided for both subtests and composites, as are age and grade equivalents. Scoring parameters for each subtest are provided in the Examiner's Manual.
The WIAT-III kit is comprised of an Examiner's Manual, Technical Manual CD, Stimulus Book, Record Form, Response Booklet, Oral Reading Fluency Booklet, Word Card, Pseudoword Card, Scoring Workbook, Audio CD, and Scoring Assistant software. The Examiner's Manual is effectively laid out, beginning with an overview of the WIAT-III and general testing guidelines. Following this, the manual provides detailed information pertaining to the administration and scoring of each subtest. Finally, the manual concludes with a section on analysis and interpretation of the measure. The stimulus book contains double-sided pages, eliminating the need for a second book as in the WIAT-II.
Subtest Description and Scoring
The WIAT-III includes 16 subtests; however, examiners can choose to administer individual subtests, a selection of subtests, or all subtests, depending on the grade level or the presenting difficulties of the examinee. These subtests combine to form seven composites: Oral Language, Total Reading, Basic Reading, Reading Comprehension and Fluency, Written Expression, Mathematics, Math Fluency, and a Total Achievement Score. It should be noted that four of the subtests (Early Reading Skills, Alphabet Writing Fluency, Oral Reading Fluency, and Spelling) that contribute to the Total Achievement Score do not contribute to the...