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EDUCATIONAL EVALUATION
Newton Public Schools
___________________________________________________
Name: XXX XXX School:Elementary School
Date of Birth:
Age: 6 years, 2 months
Sex: Male
Testing Dates: 3/16/2011
3/17/2011
3/18/2011
Grade: K.7
Teacher:
Examiner:
Tests Administered:
WIAT-III: Wechsler Individual
Achievement Test, Third Edition
CTOPP: Comprehensive Test of
Date of Report: 3/20/2011
Phonological Processing
TEMA: Test of Early Mathematics
Ability
Informal LCT Assessment in ELA and Mathematics
_______________________________________________________________________
Purpose for Administration of Assessment:
XXX was referred by his parents for academic achievement testing as a part of an initial evaluation to determine eligibility for special education. XXX’s parents noted concerns with his reading, writing, and mathematics skills. They state he also struggled with the curriculum in preschool. XXX is struggling to make progress with the grade level curriculum. Currently XXX has been receiving some classroom support in literacy since October during RTI time for 15 minutes twice a week, and also participates in an early intervention reading group three times a week. This assessment will help to determine if academic needs exist and if he meets the criteria for special education eligibility.
General Testing and Informal Observations:
XXX is outgoing, talkative, and came willingly with the examiner to the testing sessions. He would converse in a friendly manner, ask and answer conversational questions, and appeared to enjoy the one on one time. He worked hard throughout the testing sessions.
XXX required 3 testing sessions typically lasting 45 to 60 minutes. He was focused, interested, and attentive throughout most of the testing sessions. At times XXX needed directions or test items repeated. When able, the examiner would do so in order to gain the most accurate picture of XXX’s ability. On certain subtests, XXX appeared to benefit from being told when information could only be presented once.
XXX appeared to understand test directions and expectations most of the time and to perform to the best of his ability. He was highly motivated by the possibility of choosing a prize from the examiner’s “prize box”. XXX was

2 observed to move around in his chair and required some redirection to focus on the task at hand.
XXX demonstrated his ability to perform within a one to one setting with clear and concise directions, few distractions, unlimited time, and encouragement.
The results of this evaluation are thought to be an accurate picture of XXX’s current academic abilities.
Description of Test and Results
Wechsler Individual Achievement Test, Third Edition (WIAT-III)
The Wechsler Individual Achievement Test- Third Edition (WIAT-III) is a standardized, individually administered and nationally normed clinical instrument designed to measure the achievement of students who are in grades
Pre-kindergarten through 12. The WIAT-III consists of 16 subtests used to evaluate listening, speaking, reading, writing, and mathematics skills. Not all subtests are given for each age group; please refer to subtest names in the table below for subtests administered based on students’ current age or grade.
The percentile rank means that the student did the same or better than ___% of the population of children that took the test.
Score norms based on Age
Standard score Percentile Rank Classification Subtest/Subtest
Component*
Listening
Comprehension
*Receptive Vocabulary
*Oral Discourse
Comprehension
Early Reading Skills
Math Problem Solving
Alphabet Writing
Fluency
Numerical Operations
Oral Expression
*Expressive Vocabulary
*Oral Word Fluency
*Sentence Repetition
Spelling
103
116
90
83
91
85
87
86
83
94
89
84
58
86
25
13
27
16
19
18
13
34
23
14
Average
Above Average
Average
Below Average
Average
Average
Average
Average
Below Average
Average
Average
Below Average
Composite
Oral Language
Written
Standard Score Percentile Rank Classification
93
82
32
12
Average
Below Average

Expression
Mathematics
Total
Achievement
88
85
21
16
Average
Average
XXX’s total test score of 85 places him in the lower end of the average range for a child his age. His composite scores in oral language and mathematics are in the average range, and his composite score in written expression places him in the below average range in comparison to his age based peers.
XXX’s strongest scores were in the area of oral language. His highest score on the evaluation emerged in this area on the receptive vocabulary subtest. On this subtest, XXX was given a vocabulary word and showed four pictures. He then had to pick the picture that matched the vocabulary word. There were a couple of items in which XXX guessed at the picture and gave the correct answer. He said,
“I don’t know, so I’ll just pick this one”. A few times the examiner asked XXX what the word meant to see if he was making a lucky guess or if he really knew what the word was, and he was able to give a relatively accurate definition. For example, after he choose the correct picture for the word ‘astounded’, the examiner asked him what it meant and he said “um….surprised”. When asked about ‘currency’ he said “money” and ‘identical’ he said “2 of the same”.
XXX’s weakest composite score was in written expression, and his lowest subtest scores were on the early reading skills and expressive vocabulary subtests. On the early reading skills subtest, XXX lost points because he was not able to correctly identify the lowercase letters u, d, and g. He struggled to choose words that had the same ending sounds, and putting words together when given parts
(for example, when given /sh/ /ell/, XXX said “shoes”). He was also unable to choose letter groups (blends or digraphs) that made specific sounds, and reading simple words and matching them to pictures. His low score on the expressive vocabulary subtest could be affected by XXX’s impulsive answers at times. For this subtest, XXX was presented with both a visual and auditory cue in which to provide a vocabulary word. For example, XXX was shown a picture of a baby crawling and told, “Tell me the word that means to move on hands and knees”.
XXX answered “Baby”. It is unclear if XXX was simply naming the picture he saw or if he really did not know the word that means to move on hands and knees. He did this with 3 other test items, naming the picture as opposed to answering the verbal prompt.
Even with some subtests scoring below average, XXX’s overall total test score shows him to be performing at an average level, although on the lower end of the average range, when compared to peers his age. Based on this test, academically
XXX appears to be stronger in the area of mathematics than reading and writing.
Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing (CTOPP):
The CTOPP is an individually administered, norm-referenced assessment tool that consists of 12 subtests measuring the three areas of phonological processing
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4 that are highly associated with success in reading and writing: Phonological
Awareness, Phonological Memory and Rapid Naming ability. This assessment indicates a child’s strengths and weaknesses within these areas. Phonological
Awareness is the ability to access to the phonological structure of oral language.
Phonological Memory is the ability to code information phonologically for temporary storage in working or short-term memory. Rapid Naming ability is the retrieval of phonological information from memory and the ability to complete a sequence of operations quickly and repeatedly. In addition to their role in learning to read, phonological processing abilities also support effective mathematical calculation, listening comprehension, and reading comprehension.
Standard Scores between 8 and 12 are considered average
Composite Scores between 90 and 110 are considered average
Subtest
Elision
Blending
Words
Sound
Matching
Memory for
Digits
Non-word
Repetition
Standard
Score
11
9
11
6
8
Classification Composite
Average
Area
Tested
Average
Average
Below Average
Average
Phonological
Awareness
Phonological
Memory
Composite
Scores
102
82
Classification
Average
Below Average
Rapid Color
Naming
Rapid Object
Naming
9
11
Average
Average
Rapid
Naming
100
CTOPP Summary
Phonological awareness is an awareness of and access to the phonological structure of oral language. Children with well-developed phonological awareness learn to read more easily than do children with poorly developed phonological awareness. XXX’s composite score in phonological awareness places him in the
Average average category for a student his age. The Elision subtest required him to delete, or take out, certain sounds in words or certain parts of words, such as one half of a compound word, or the beginning, middle, or ending sound of a word. The
Blending Words subtest required XXX to put together parts of a compound word, or single sounds to make up a complex word. The sound matching subtest required XXX to choose one of three given words and pictures that either began or ended with the same sound as another given word.
XXX scored in the average range for blending words, average for the Elision subtest, average on the sound matching subtest, and in the average range for the

5 phonological awareness composite when compared to others his age. On the sound matching subtest, XXX was more successful with finding words that started with the same sound, and struggled a bit more with finding words that ended with the same sound, although still performed within an average range.
Phonological memory represents the examinee’s ability to code information phonologically for temporary storage in working or short-term memory.
Specifically the composite score provides an assessment of the functioning of the part of memory called the phonological loop, which provides a brief, verbatim storage of auditory information. The phonological loop is comprised of (a) a phonological store that records the most recent two seconds worth of auditory information and (b) an articulatory control process that provides input to the phonological loop initially and also can refresh information already in the loop so that it can be stored for longer than two seconds. A deficit does not inevitably lead to poor reading of familiar material but is more likely to impair decoding of new words, particularly words that are long enough to decode bit by bit, as a means of storing intermediate sounds. A deficit in phonological memory may not impair listening or reading comprehension for simple sentences but is likely to impair both listening and reading comprehension for more complex sentences.
XXX’s score on the memory for digits subtest placed him in the below average range for where we would expect a student his age to perform, but his non-word repetition score was in the average range. XXX’s overall phonological memory score (82) places him below where we would expect a student his age to perform.
This may suggest that XXX struggles a bit more with information stored in his working memory or short-term memory.
The Rapid Naming Composite Score measures the efficient retrieval of phonological information from long-term or permanent memory and executing a sequence of operations quickly and repeatedly. Efficient retrieval of phonological information and execution of sequences of operations are required when readers attempt to decode unfamiliar words. Because of the timed nature of the subtests that make up the composite score, individuals who score poorly commonly have problems with reading fluency. Individuals who have deficits in both rapid naming and phonological awareness appear to be at greater risk of reading problems compared to individuals with difficulties in only one of the two areas.
XXX’s composite score of 100 places him solidly in the average range for rapid naming. This suggests that he should be able to read fluently at about the same level as similar age peers.
Overall, XXX performed in the average range for phonological awareness, below average in phonological memory, and average in rapid naming. These scores suggest that he may have the most difficulty with skills that are related to his working memory or short-term memory. XXX does appear to have the necessary phonological foundation for reading at an age appropriate level.

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Test of Early Mathematics Ability, Third Edition (TEMA-3)
The TEMA is an individually administered, norm-referenced, reliable, and valid test of early mathematical ability that is appropriate for children of ages 3 years 0 months through 8 years 11 months. The TEMA measures mathematical knowledge of what children acquire from everyday experiences (informal knowledge) as well as what they learn from schooling (formal knowledge). The
TEMA-3 yields a raw score, age equivalent, grade equivalent, percentile rank and a Math Ability Score (standard score).
The percentile rank means that the student did the same or better than ___% of the population of children that took the test.
Score norms based on Age
Raw
Score
20
Age
Equivalent
5-0
Grade
Equivalent
K.0
%tile
Rank
9
Math
Ability
Score
80
Classification
Below Average
On this test, XXX was asked a series of mathematical questions measuring both his formal and informal mathematical knowledge. XXX is solid in his understanding and ability to work with numbers to 10, except for mixing up the numbers 8 and 9. XXX demonstrated that he understands the basic concept of addition with numbers to 10. He can compare and find the larger of 2 numbers to 10, and write numbers to 10 with some reversals (sometimes he reverses 2, 3, and 7, but not consistently). He can mentally or with his fingers add sums to 9.
He had difficulty counting backwards from 10. He struggled to read, write, or count objects of numbers into the teens and twenties. XXX was able to rote count to 13, skipped to 19 and counted successfully to 29. XXX’s math ability score of
80 places him at the 9 th percentile, which is below the average level of where we would expect a student his age to be performing in mathematics.
Informal LCT Assessment in ELA and Mathematics
In addition to the above standardized and nationally normed assessments, the examiner also conducted some informal curriculum based assessments in reading and mathematics.
ELA
XXX was initially asked if he could sing the alphabet song. The first time through he sang the song very fast, and the examiner noted a few errors between the letters L and V. The examiner asked XXX to sing the song again, this time a little slower so she could hear all the letters he knew and his great voice, and XXX was able to sing most of the song correctly, but began to mumble at the end around the letters T-U-V, and the examiner was unsure if the remaining letters were sung

in the correct order. XXX appears to be inconsistent with the letters that he is able to recall.
XXX was then shown uppercase letters of the alphabet in a random order on the page and was able to correctly identify the letters: M, C, T, A, Q, S, H, Z, X, P, R,
O, W, K, Y, N, E. He was unable to correctly identify letters B, D, F, G, I, J, L, U,
V. According to this assessment he was able to identify 17/26 uppercase letters.
He was able to identify 13/26 lower case letters. Those letters were: o, z, i, m, c, t, h, s, p, x, k, y, w. He was unable to identify lowercase letters: a, b, d, e, f, g, j, l, n, q, r, u, v. Interestingly, XXX was able to identify the lowercase letters that look the same or almost the same but smaller as capital letters. With the exception of the letter ‘i’, if XXX did not know the capital letter, he also did not know the lowercase letter. XXX was able to give the appropriate sound for 10 letters: g, m, k, t, z, n, i, s, x, w.
XXX was asked to write all the letters of the alphabet that he knew. When responding that he didn’t know any, the examiner asked, “Do you know how to write your name?” to which XXX responded, “Yes!”. He proceeded to write his first name and the first letter of his last name appropriately. He was also able to name each letter correctly. Subsequently, XXX was asked, “Do you know another letter?” and was able to write and name the letters S, R, M, and Q. It should be noted that XXX did require a model in order to write S. He tried writing the letter independently, but wrote the number 3 and crossed it out five times before successfully writing S with a visual model. In total, XXX is able to name and write 9 letters.
The examiner also informally tested XXX on some concepts of print, based on
Marie Clay’s Concepts About Print. XXX is able to identify the cover and front page of a book, understands left to right directionality, where to begin reading a book, can identify a letter within a word, and the difference between letters and words, however does not yet understand what a word and sentence are and the difference between them. He does not have 1:1 correspondence with words; has difficulty following along with his finger when reading a book; and doesn’t understand punctuation. He enjoys looking at the pictures in the books, but doesn’t quite understand that print carries meaning. When asked if he wanted to read the book, he responded, “I can’t read”, and when asked if he wanted the examiner to read the book aloud to him, he responded, “No, I just want to look at the pictures”.
Math
XXX is able to rote count orally to 13, then skips to 19 and is able to count from
19 to 29. He demonstrates inconsistent 1:1 correspondence when counting; sometimes accurate when in his head, sometimes inaccurate when counting in his head and orally. He struggles the most with 1:1 correspondence when given numbers over 6. He is able to match a number of objects to a given digit, up to 10 with about 80% accuracy. He consistently mixes up the numbers 8 and 9 and their quantities. He does, however, pair the numerical concept with the
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8 appropriate quantity. For example, when seeing the numeral 9, he says “8” and counts out 8 objects. When seeing the numeral 8, he says “9” and counts out 9 objects.
XXX was given large sized graph paper and asked to write as many numbers as he could. He wrote the numbers 1-10, writing 9 for 8, and 8 for 9. He consistently seems to mix up these two numbers; the same error was noted on the
TEMA as well. When asked if he knew any other numbers, XXX was able to successfully name and write numbers 100-105.
When given 2 dimensional shapes, XXX was able to name circle (after first labeling it an “o”, the examiner asked for another name, the name of the shape) and star. He was inconsistent with his ability to name square, triangle, rectangle, diamond, and trapezoid. He can identify and continue ABAB patterns with ease, however was only able to duplicate an ABC pattern once. He is able to produce his own AB pattern and continue it.
XXX is also unsure of concepts of time such as days of the week and months of the year. He knows what money is, but cannot accurately and consistently identify the coins and their value.
Evaluation Summary and Implications
XXX is a 6-year-old friendly and talkative kindergarten student at Burr
Elementary School who enjoys looking at books and Star Wars. XXX was referred by his parents for academic achievement testing as a part of an initial evaluation to determine eligibility for special education. They noted concerns since preschool with XXX’s inability to recall and grasp the academic curriculum.
This assessment will help to determine if academic needs exist and if he meets the criteria for special education eligibility.
XXX currently attends a regular education classroom and has been receiving some additional support in literacy since October through RTI twice a week and early intervention three times a week. XXX is struggling to make progress with the grade level curriculum in most areas.
XXX was administered the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test- Third Edition
(WIAT-III), the Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing (CTOPP), the
Test of Early Mathematics Ability-Third Edition (TEMA-3), and some informal assessments in March 2011. On the WIAT-III, oral language emerged as a strength for XXX. Composite scores in oral language and mathematics place him in the average range in comparison to students his age. XXX’s written expression composite score places him in the below average range for a student his age.
XXX's total composite score of 85 on the WIAT-III places him in the lower end of the average range for a child his age.
On the CTOPP, XXX performed in the average range for phonological awareness, below average in phonological memory, and average in rapid naming. These

9 scores suggest that he may have the most difficulty with skills that are related to his working memory or short-term memory. XXX does appear to have the necessary phonological foundation for reading at an age appropriate level.
On the TEMA-3, XXX displayed solid understanding and ability to work with numbers to 10, except for mixing up the numbers 8 and 9. XXX’s math ability score of 80 places him at the 9 th percentile, which is below the average level of where we would expect a student his age to be performing in mathematics.
The informal ELA and Math assessments showed XXX to be performing somewhat inconsistently in both math and literacy. On this given day in literacy,
XXX was able to sing the alphabet song with some errors, identify 17/26 uppercase letters, identify 13/26 lower case letters , and 10 sounds. XXX was able to identify the lowercase letters that look the same or almost the same as, but smaller than, the capital letters. With the exception of the letter ‘i’, if XXX did not know the capital letter, he also did not know the lowercase letter. XXX is able to name and write 9 letters, although required a visual model for the letter S.
XXX is able to identify the cover and front page of a book, understands left to right directionality, where to begin reading, can identify a letter within a word, and the difference between letters and words, however does not yet understand what a word and sentence are and the difference between them. He does not have 1:1 correspondence with words; has difficulty following along with his finger when reading a book; and doesn’t understand punctuation. He enjoys looking at the pictures in the books, but doesn’t quite understand that print carries meaning.
In Math, XXX is able to rote count orally to 13, then skips to 19 and is able to count from 19 to 29. He demonstrates inconsistent 1:1 correspondence when counting; and he consistently mixes up the numbers 8 and 9 and their quantities.
He does, however, pair the numerical concept with the appropriate quantity. For example, when seeing the numeral 9, he says “8” and counts out 8 objects. When seeing the numeral 8, he says “9” and counts out 9 objects. XXX is able to write the numbers 1-10, writing 9 for 8, and 8 for 9. XXX is also able to successfully name and write numbers 100-105.
XXX is able to identify some basic 2 dimensional shapes: circle and star. He is inconsistent in his performance of identifying square, triangle, rectangle, diamond, and trapezoid. He can identify and continue AB patterns with ease; but is unsure of concepts of time such as days of the week and months of the year.
He knows what money is, but cannot accurately and consistently identify the coins and their value.
Overall, XXX has demonstrated that he has the necessary foundation for reading and understands some basic math concepts. He is currently performing below where we would expect a student his age to be performing in both literacy and mathematics.

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Recommendations
Based on the findings of this evaluation, the following recommendations may be beneficial to promote XXX's academic success.
1.
XXX may benefit from being allowed to work on tests and assignments at his own pace, without time restrictions.
2.
XXX may benefit from small group focused instruction during reading, writing, and mathematics. This instruction should incorporate different modalities to ensure adequate understanding and retention of skills including direct phonics instruction, guided reading, spelling, comprehension, and specific writing skills, math concepts, calculation, and problem solving skills.
3.
XXX should receive frequent prompting and check-ins during writing tasks. Alphabet charts with pictures and letters, talking out loud before writing, word banks, and other aids may be of benefit.
4.
Frequent repetition and review of concepts and skills previously taught should be incorporated into XXX’s schedule to ensure adequate comprehension and retention of skills.
5.
Incorporate the use of visual charts, models, and exemplars for him to refer to when presented with new or novel information.
6.
XXX may benefit from a warning to increase his attention when important directions or information is about to be delivered.
This assessment should be reviewed by the team in conjunction with other reports as well as classroom achievement and accommodations to determine if academic needs exist and if he meets the criteria for special education eligibility.
More specific recommendations will be discussed at the upcoming team meeting.
It has been a pleasure working with XXX. If you have any questions regarding this assessment, please feel free to contact me at 617-559-.
______________________
Learning Center Teacher

Wechsler Individual Achievement Test, Third Edition (WIAT-III)
The Wechsler Individual Achievement Test- Third Edition (WIAT-III) is a standardized, individually administered and nationally normed clinical instrument designed to measure the achievement of students who are in grades
Pre-kindergarten through 12. The WIAT-III consists of 16 subtests used to evaluate listening, speaking, reading, writing, and mathematics skills.
Italicized subtests were administered to this student.
Composites are made up of Subtests:
Oral Language composite:
Listening comprehension: 2 components: Receptive Vocabulary, Oral Discourse
Comprehension
Oral expression: 3 components: Expressive vocabulary, oral word fluency, sentence repetition
Total Reading Composite:
Word reading
Pseudoword decoding
Reading Comprehension
Oral reading fluency
Basic Reading:
Word Reading
Pseudoword Decoding
Reading Comprehension and Fluency:
Reading Comprehension
Oral Reading Fluency
Written Expression:
Alphabet Writing Fluency
Spelling
Sentence Composition: 2 components: sentence combining, sentence building
Mathematics:
Math Problem Solving
Numerical Operations
Math Fluency:
Math Fluency Addition
Math Fluency Subtraction
Total Achievement Composite:
All the above subtests plus Early Reading Skills
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