Chapter 10. Preschool and Educational Assessment
Achievement Tests
WRAT-3 (Wide Range Achievement Test)-3: 3 subtests. Tow forms (blue and tan)
Reading, Spelling, and Arithmetic.
WIAT-II (Wechsler Individual Achievement Test)-II: Ages 4 to adults. 7 subtests.
Oral expression, Listening comprehension, Written expression, Basic Reading skills, Reading
Comprehension, Mathematics calculation, and Mathematical reasoning.
Aptitude Tests
Tests for an Elementary school
MRT (Metropolitan Readiness Tests): A group-administered battery that tests the development
of reading and mathematics skills important in the early stages of formal, school learning.
Level 1 (beginning and middle kindergartens)
Auditory memory (arrange 4 pictures in the same order of 4 words presented orally)
Rhyming
Letter recognition
Visual matching
School language and listening (select a picture corresponds to a story told)
Quantitative language
Level 2 (Kindergarten to 1st grade):
Beginning consonants (select a picture from 4 pictures that begins with the same letter of
the 5th picture)
Sound-letter correspondence (choose a letter from a series of letters that begins an object
of a picture)
Visual matching
Finding patterns
School language
Listening
Quantitative concepts
Quantitative operations
Tests for a Secondary School Level
1. SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test): Verbal (Analogies, Reading comprehension, Antonyms, and
Sentence Completion) and Mathematical (arithmetic operations, geometric and algebra concepts,
exponents) Sections. It tests one’s current readiness for college work.
2. ACT (American College Testing)
Tests for a College Level and Beyond.
1. GRE (Graduate Record Examination): A criterion for admission to many graduate schools. It
consists of 3 sections: Verbal (comprehension of reading passages from various fields),
Quantitative (mathematical reasoning, reading graphs, and descriptive data), and Analytical
ability (deduce relationships or make appropriate inferences from a set of given facts and
conditions). It is an aptitude and a speed test. Mean=500, STD=100.
2. MAT (Miller Analogue Test): A 100-item multiple-choice analogy test that assess general
intelligence, an ability to perceive relationships, vocabulary, and academic learning. It consists of
complex analogies whose subject matter is drawn from various academic fields. It is a power
test.
(Ex: classical conditioning to Pavlov, as operant conditioning is to ?)
3. MCAT (Medical College Admissions Test): A multiple choice test consisting of 4 sections
such as Verbal ability (75 items in 25 minutes), Quantitative ability (50 items in 45 minutes),
General information (75 items in 25 minutes), Science (86 items in 60 minutes). Required for
admission to medical schools.
4. LSAT (Law School Admission Test):
Morning session (verbal ability): Logical reasoning, Practical Judgment, Data interpretation,
Quantitative comparisons, and Principles and Case (hypothetical legal cases).
Afternoon session (ability to express oneself in writings): Error recognition, Sentence correction,
and Usage.
Mixed Tests (Aptitude and Achievemnt)
Differential Attitude Scales (DAS: Elliott, 1990a)
-American adaptation of the British Ability Scales (BAS)
-For individuals for ages 2 and a half to 17 years 11 months.
-Not only a measure of ability but of achievement
-Consists of 12 core subtests, 6 diagnostic subtests, and 3 achievement subtests.
-Based on a developmental, hierarchical model of cognitive abilities with three levels including
(a) general conceptual ability, (b) general verbal vs. nonverbal ability, and (c) individual verbal
vs. nonverbal abilities.
-It takes about 35 to 90 minutes depending on ages (starting and discontinuing rules)
-Test-retest reliability= .79 to 94.
-Factor analysis (validity) = Three factors (a verbal reasoning, a nonverbal reasoning, and spatial
ability factor from children of ages 6 years through 17 years 11 months).
Core Subtests
1. Block building (perceptual-motor ability: copying a 2 or 3 dimensional figure with blocks:
ages 2-6 to 3-5)
2. Verbal comprehension (receptive verbal knowledge: pointing to pictures or manipulating
toys or objects in response to examiner: ages 2-6 to 5-11)
3. Picture similarities (nonverbal reasoning: show a row of 4 pictures and try to place a 5th
picture under the picture sharing an element or concept: 2-6 to 5-11)
4. Naming vocabulary (expressive verbal knowledge: naming objects and pictures: 2-6 to 5-11)
5. Pattern construction (nonverbal, spatial reasoning: constructing a design with foam rubber
squares or plastic blocks to match patterns depicted on cards: 3-6 to 17-11).
6. Early number concepts (nonverbal and verbal knowledge: responding to questions about
number, size, and other numerical concepts using colored chips or pictures: 3-6 to 5-11).
7. Copying (perceptual-motor ability: copying drawing made by examiners or displayed in a
picture: ages 3-6 to 5-11)
8. Recall of designs (short-term visual spatial memory: reproducing a geometric design after
being exposed to it: 6-0 to 17-11)
9. Word definitions (Expressive verbal knowledge: defining words presented orally or visually:
6-0 to 17-11)
10. Matrices (Nonverbal reasoning: Show an incomplete matrix of abstract figures and selects
the figure from 4 to 6 choices that completes the matrix: ages of 6-0 to 17-11).
11. Similarities (verbal reasoning: Stating how things are similar to each other: 6-0 to 17-11).
12. Sequential and quantitative reasoning (detection of sequential patterns in figures or
numbers: see a series of figures and complete it. See a pair of numbers, identify the relationship,
and then provide a number in an incomplete pair: 6-0 to 17-11).
Diagnostic Subtests
1. Recall of Objects-immediate (Short term verbal memory: Views a card of 20 objects for 20
to 60 seconds and try to recall as many objects as possible. Three trials. Ages of 4-0 to 17-11).
2. Recall of objects-delayed (Immediate verbal memory: Recall as many objects as possible
from Recall of Objects. 10 to 20 minutes after Recall of Objects-immediate: Ages of 4-0 to 1711).
3. Matching Letterlike Forms (Visual perceptual matching: Choosing a figure from 6 choices
that matches an abstract figure: 4-0 to 17-11).
4. Recall of Digits (Short-term auditory memory: Repeating a sequence of digits presented orally
at the rate of 2 digits per second: ages of 3-0 to 17-11).
5. Recognition of pictures (Short-term visual memory: Show black-and-white pictures of
common objects for 5 to 10 secondsshow a second picture with the same objects as well as
distracterstry to point the objects that were in the first picture: ages of 3-0 to 17-11).
6. Speed of information processing (Quickness in performing mental operations: Show rows of
circles containing figures and numbers, and try to mark the circle with the most figures or
highest number: ages of 6-0 to 17-11).
Achievement Subtests
1. Basic Number Skills (numerical computation: ages 6-0 to 17-11)
2. Spelling (tasks of writing words dictated by the examiner: ages of 6-0 to 17-11)
3. Word Reading (reading decoding skills: reading aloud words presented on a card: ages 6-0 to
17-11)
Woodcock-Johnson III (WJ-III):
-Tests of achievement and tests of cognitive abilities.
-Measures achievement, general intellectual ability (g), specific cognitive abilities, scholastic
aptitude, and oral language.
-Age based norms range from age 2 to 90+ (age based norms are provided from ages 24 months
to 19 years by month and year by after that).
-Used for detecting learning disabilities (discrepancies between ability and achievement).
-Plan for educational programs and interventions (identifying strength and weakness).
Tests of Achievement: A standard battery (12 subtests: As) and An extended battery (10 subtests:
Bs)
1. Reading:
(1A) Letter-Word Identification and (1B) Word Attack (basic skills),
(2A) Fluency (Reading fluency),
(3A) Passage comprehension and (2B) Reading Vocabulary (Comprehension).
2. Oral Language:
(4A) Story Recall and (3B) Picture vocabulary (oral expression),
(5A) Understanding directions and (4B) Oral comprehension (listening comprehension).
3. Mathematics:
(6A) Calculation (calculation skills),
(7A) Math Fluency (fluency),
(8A) Applied problems and (5B) Quantitative concepts (reasoning).
4. Written Language:
(9A) Spelling and (6B) Editing (basic skills)
(10A) Writing Fluency (fluency),
(11A) Writing samples (expression)
5. Knowledge Supplemental:
(12A) Story recall-Delayed handwriting legibility scale
(7B) Academic knowledge,
(8B) Spelling of sounds,
(9B) Sound awareness,
(10B) Punctuation/capitalization.
Tests for Cognitive Abilities: A standard battery (10 subtests: As) and an extended battery (10
additional subtests: Bs).
1. General comprehension (verbal ability):
(1A) Verbal comprehension (lexical knowledge, language development) and (1B) General
information.
2. Long term retrieval (thinking ability):
(2A) Visual-auditory learning (associate memory),
(3A) Visual-auditory learning delayed (associate memory),
(2B) Retrieval fluency (ideational fluency),
3. Visual-spatial thinking (thinking ability):
(4A) Spatial reasoning (visualization, spatial relations),
(3B) Picture recognition (visual memory),
(4B) Planning (spatial scanning, general sequential reasoning).
4. Auditory processing (thinking ability):
(5A) Sound blending (phonetic coding, analysis),
(6A) Incomplete words (phonetic coding, analysis),
(5B) Auditory attention (speech-sound discrimination, resistance to auditory stimulus).
5. Fluid Reasoning (thinking ability):
(7A) Concept formation (induction),
(6B) Analysis-synthesis (general sequential reasoning),
(7B) Planning (spatial scanning, general sequential reasoning).
6. Processing speed (cognitive efficiency):
(8A) Visual matching (perceptual speed),
(8B) Decision speed (semantic processing speed), (9B) Rapid picture naming (naming facility),
(10B) Pair cancellation (attention and concentration).
7. Short-term memory (cognitive efficiency):
(9A) Number reversed (working memory),
(10A) Auditory working memory (working memory), and (10B) Memory for words (memory
span).