Assessment Service Bulletins
The following series of Assessment Service Bulletins (ASBs) provides education professionals
and clinicians supportive technical data, feature comparisons, and practical applications
of the
WJ III family of assessments. Each ASB features a different topic
that, when reviewed carefully, will help professionals maximize the breadth of information
and depth of diagnostic utility available through the
WJ III assessment system.
Print and read the bulletins as needed, and share with colleagues who use
WJ III
to diagnose leaning disabilities, plan educational programs, provide psychometric
training, conduct research, or more.
ASB #1: Comparative Features of the WJ III Tests of
Cognitive Abilities and the Wechsler Intelligence Scales
This document includes five tables that compare the
WJ III Tests of Cognitive Abilities
to the Wechsler Intelligence Scales, including the
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale®–Third Edition, the
Wechsler Intelligence Scale
for Children®–Third Edition,
and the
Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence™–Revised.
These tables make comparisons along a number of different dimensions, including
content features, administration features, interpretation features, technical features
and more.
ASB #2: WJ III Technical
Abstract
This abstract outlines the procedures followed in developing and validating the
WJ III. Throughout the development and the design of associated research
studies, test standards as outlined in the Standards for Educational and Psychological
Testing (American Educational Research Association [AERA], American Psychological
Association [APA], and National Council on Measurement in Education [NCME], 1999)
were followed carefully. This abstract contains a summary of information from the
WJ III Technical Manual (McGrew & Woodcock, 2001).
ASB #3: Use of the WJ III Discrepancy Procedures
for Learning Disabilities Identification and Diagnosis
Several discrepancy procedures are available with the
WJ III. This ASB provides
distinctions among the various discrepancy procedures and differentiates the purposes
of each for the assessment of individuals with learning disabilities.
ASB #4: Calculating Ability/Achievement Discrepancies Between
the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children–Third Edition and the WJ III
Tests of Achievement
This bulletin outlines a step-by-step procedure for calculating ability/achievement
discrepancies between the
Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - Third Edition
and the
WJ III Tests of Achievement. It includes a reproducible worksheet
for calculating these discrepancies. The procedure is based on correlations between
the measures obtained from a broad sample of non-referred individuals.
ASB #5: Comparative Features of Comprehensive Achievement Batteries
This document compares the major comprehensive achievement batteries along a number
of different dimensions. It includes seven tables that compare the following elements
of the tests: select content features, administration procedures, levels and types
of interpretation, technical characteristics, academic abilities measured according
to the Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) theory, coverage of learning disability assessment
areas found in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and the variation
in individual task characteristics.
ASB #6: Calculating Discrepancies Between the WJ III
GIA-Std Score and Selected WJ III Tests of Cognitive Abilities Clusters
This bulletin outlines a step-by-step procedure for calculating discrepancies between
the
Woodcock-Johnson III (WJ III) General Intellectual Ability–Standard (GIA-Std)
score and selected
WJ III Tests of Cognitive Abilities clusters. It includes
a reproducible worksheet for calculating these discrepancies.
ASB #7: Specification of the Cognitive Processes
Involved in the Performance on the WJ III
This bulletin integrates information on the
WJ III, Cattell-Horn-Carroll
(CHC) theory, and selected research in cognitive psychology. Support for a specification
of the cognitive processes involved in performance on the
WJ III is described
in terms of CHC theory with selected classic and contemporary cognitive and neuroscience
research.
ASB #8: Educational Interventions Related to the WJ
III Tests of Achievement
This bulletin relates the
WJ III Tests of Achievement to a number of evidence-based
educational interventions. The Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) narrow abilities and a
description of the cognitive processes required for performance on each test provides
the conceptual basis for the links between the
WJ III and the suggested educational
interventions.
ASB #9: Woodcock-Johnson III/Woodcock-Johnson III Normative
Update Score Differences: What the User Can Expect and Why
This bulletin describes the differences between the 2000 U.S. Census projections
and the 2000 U.S. Census statistics and the impact this had on the
WJ III
norms. It further describes how recalculation of the
WJ III norms based on
the final 2000 U.S. Census statistics and the use of state-of-the-art bootstrap
resampling procedures resulted in the
WJ III Normative Update (
WJ III NU),
a more current and accurate comparison of an individual’s scores to the U.S. population.
Finally, it provides recommendations for best practice use of the
WJ III/
WJ
III NU scores in tracking individuals’ performance across time, allowing
users of the
WJ III to have great confidence in the accuracy of the scores
from this instrument.
ASB #10 Educational Interventions Related to the WJ
III Tests of Cognitive Abilities and the Diagnostic Supplement to the Tests of Cognitive
Abilities
This bulletin relates the
Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Cognitive Abilities (WJ III® COG) and the
Woodcock-Johnson III Diagnostic Supplement
to the Tests of Cognitive Abilities (DS) to educational interventions
and accommodations. The Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) broad and narrow abilities and
descriptions of the cognitive processes required for performance on each test provide
the theoretical and conceptual bases for suggested links between the
WJ III COG
and DS and a number of evidence-based instructional interventions. Research discussed
in this bulletin suggests that the CHC abilities (and, by inference, their constituent
cognitive processes) are related to specific academic abilities. Consequently, educational
interventions or accommodations that address related cognitive limitations may be
foundational to improved performance in academic areas where learning difficulties
are manifested.
ASB #11 Development, Interpretation, and Application of
the W Score and the Relative Proficiency Index The purpose of this bulletin
is to familiarize users of the
WJ III with the development, interpretation,
and application of the W score and the RPI. Specifically, this bulletin describes
the levels of interpretive information available in the
WJ III, explains
the special characteristics and usefulness of the W scale, and describes how the
RPI fits into the hierarchy of information used to interpret test results, including,
the differences between the RPI and peer-comparison scores, the usefulness of the
RPI in clarifying diagnostic profiles and designing interventions and considerations
for using the RPI in view of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
2004, and the use of the RPI in clinical research.
ASB #12 Use of the Woodcock-Johnson III NU Tests of
Cognitive Abilities and Tests of Achievement with Canadian Populations
This bulletin examines the use of the
Woodcock-Johnson III Normative Update (WJ III
NU) Tests of Cognitive Abilities and Tests of Achievement with a random
sample of 310 school-age Canadian students. Results were compared with a matched
sample of U.S. subjects selected from the
WJ III NU standardization sample
using
WJ III NU norms. While some minor score differences are reported across
the two samples, the study findings generally support the use of the U.S.-based
WJ III NU norms with Canadian school-age populations.