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Woodcock-Johnson III BatteryAUTHORS: Richard W. Woodcock, Kevin S. McGrew, and Nancy Mather, 2001, 2006
SPRING 2008 CLINICAL ASSESSMENT NEWSLETTERThe Woodcock-Johnson Interpretation and Instructional Interventions Program (WIIIP) is profiled in our latest newsletter. Click on this link Spring 2008 Clinical Assessment Newsletter to download the PDF file (approximate size is 150KB), or contact Customer Service 1-800-268-2222 to receive a printed copy by mail. The Woodcock-Johnson III (WJ III) consists of two distinct, co-normed batteries:
Both batteries are appropriate for ages 2 to 90+ and together they provide a comprehensive system for measuring general intellectual ability (g), specific cognitive abilities, scholastic aptitude, oral language, and achievement. The original WJ III ACH is available in two forms, Form A and Form B -- Form B includes Canadian Pages to update selected tests for use in Canada (e.g., metric math, Canadian coins) and Form B is the most-widely-used form of WJ III ACH in this country. In a few cases (e.g., some hospital settings or research projects) both forms of WJ III ACH are in use -- Form A of the achievement tests is available only by special order, and has U.S. references in some of the test items.. The new WJ III ACH Form C is a "brief battery", available now. For information about WJ III ACH Form C, please refer to the Fall 2007 Clinical Assessment Newsletter (see link below) or contact Customer Support at 1-800-268-2222 to request a copy of the newsletter by mail. In 2007, Riverside Publishing released a Normative Update for the WJ III ACH and WJ III COG test kits. For information about the WJ III Normative Update (NU), please refer to ASB#9 (see link below) and the Fall 2007 Clinical Assessment Newsletter (link below), or contact Customer Support at 1-800-268-2222 to request copies by mail. Some WJ III Resources available for download as PDF files:
Notes for the WJ III Assessment Service Bulletins: A) ASB#1 through ASB#6 are early titles in the series, and may have specific references to the original WJ III Norms (2000). B) ASB#7 through ASB#9 are more recent and are aligned with the WJ III Normative Update that was released in 2007.
While tests are the basic administration components of the WJ III, test interpretation is based primarily on clusters of tests. Cluster interpretation results in higher validity because scores are based on a broad, multifaceted picture of each ability instead of on a single, narrow ability.  Scroll
down directly to:FeaturesThe additional tests, clusters, and interpretive procedures in the WJ III, as well as extensive renorming, have strengthened and increased the instrument's diagnostic capabilities.
Uses of the WJ III
Canadian ValidationThe Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Cognitive Abilities (WJ III COG) and Tests of Achievement (WJ III ACH) have been developed for use in Canada. The principles for Fair Student Assessment Practices for
Education in Canada (1993) encourages test developers to provide for periodic
review and revision of content and norms, especially when students who
are being assessed were not part of the test's norming sample. This position
is similar to that advocated by Saklofske and Janzen (1990), who suggested
that imported tests be validated for use in Canada.
During initial development, all items were reviewed by
Canadian professionals to ensure fairness. In particular, Form B of the
WJ III Tests of Achievement was designed with metric items and utilizes
Canadian spellings. As part of the WJ III test development process, a
standardization-validation study was designed and undertaken to determine
if unique Canadian norms were needed for the WJ III COG and WJ III ACH.
This study involved 334 English-speaking school-aged children, in grades
1-13, selected from three geographical areas in Canada (Western Canada,
Central Canada, and the Maritime Provinces). Communities were sampled
by census region and type of community. Standardization-validation data
were obtained from six provinces. Communities were targeted for selection
based on the characteristics of geographic distribution, size of community,
and SES characteristics (high, average, and low SES communities). Catholic
schools were also included in the norming sample to further represent
a cross section of the community. Thirty-four schools were included in
the study. As a concurrent validity measure, the WISC-III®
was administered to 106 of the individuals included in the WJ III Canadian
sample.
Discrepancy AnalysisThe WJ III is especially useful for identifying and documenting ability/achievement discrepancies and intra-ability discrepancies. The ability/achievement discrepancy is the most commonly used method of evaluating an individual's eligibility for special programs. Professionals can obtain ability/achievement discrepancies by administering both the WJ III Tests of Cognitive Abilities and the WJ III Tests of Achievement. The WJ III provides three types of ability/achievement discrepancies - general intellectual ability to achievement, predicted achievement to achievement, and oral language to achievement. The oral language to achievement discrepancy is a new measure offered only in the WJ III. For the first time, professionals can calculate an ability/achievement discrepancy using only the achievement battery. The Oral Language-Extended cluster, which used to be in the cognitive battery, can now be used as the "ability" score and compared to a subject's achievement. score. This measure is particularly useful for reading and other oral language professionals. The WJ III also provides intra-ability discrepancies, which include intra-achievement discrepancies, intra-cognitive discrepancies, and intra-individual discrepancies. Information gathered from intra-ability discrepancies helps professionals to determine an individual's strengths and weaknesses, diagnose and document language and learning disabilties, and make intervention plans. The intra-individual discrepancy procedure has several advantages over traditional aptitude/achievement discrepancy procedures. It provides a more comprehensive evaluation because examiners can analyze a variety of scores across cognitive and achievement clusters. The intra-achievement discrepancy procedure examines the difference between an individual's achievement score in a particular area with a prediction estimated based on an average of all other achievement areas to help professionals to identify learning disabilities, pinpoint specific problems, and choose the most appropriate intervention for an individual. The procedure is also particulary useful for identifying learning disabilities early, before a child fails in school. ReliabilityMost of the WJ III tests show strong reliabilities of .80 or higher; several are .90 or higher. The WJ III interpretive plan is based on cluster interpretation. The WJ III clusters show strong reliabilities, most at .90 or higher. The reliability characteristics of the WJ III meet or exceed basic standards for both individual placement and programming decisions.. Phonological AwarenessPhonological awareness is one of the best predictions of early reading acquisition - better than IQ vocabulary, or listening comprehension; as such, it is an important predictor of educational achievement. Deficits in this area are a cause of severe reading problems.. Phonological awareness is the ability to focus on the sound structure of language apart from its meaning. To learn to read and spell, we must attend to the relationship between the sounds (phonemes) and the letters (graphemes) of language. This knowledge of phoneme-grapheme, or sound-symbol, relationships is a key to decoding and encoding written language. There are several types of phonological awareness, including word, syllable, rhyme, and phonemic awareness. The cognitive battery contains Sound Blending, which requires a subject to synthesize speech sounds to form a word, and Incomplete Words, in which a subject analyzes a word with missing phonemes and identifies the complete word. The WJ III Tests of Achievement contain three tests that measure phonological awareness. Word Attack and Spelling of Sounds assess a subject's phoneme/grapheme knowledge to see if the subject can apply both phonological and orthographical knowledge to identify and spell words. And Sound Awareness measures a subject's ability to rhyme words and manipulate phonemes..
ScoringEach WJ III Test Kit includes the WJ III Compuscore and Profiles Program (WCPP) at no additional charge. With this program, you enter the raw scores, and the software quickly and accurately provides all derived scores for tests and clusters and eliminates hand-scoring errors. The Summary Report contains a brief narrative description of test performance and incorporates observations from the Test Session Observations Checklist. The report and table of scores can be easily imported into a word-processing program for integration into a more extensive report. Upgrade to Version 2.1WCPP Version 2.1 is now available and will be included in all WJ III Kits. Current Compuscore users may upgrade from Version 2.0 to Version 2.1 by following this link - Computer Scoring and Profiles Program (WCPP) - to download an update file from our Web site. Version 2.1 is a minor update. NOTE: The WJ III can also be scored using the interpretive software Report Writer for the WJ III, which is available separately.
Training Sessions and ResourcesTraining sessions are offered across Canada at various times each year. Get your name or organization on the list to receive information on sessions by completing our on-line Training Request Form. Helmsing Consulting offers extensive training sessions in Western Canada. Visit their web site at www.helmsingconsulting.com for more information. A variety of WJ III Training materials are also available.
Prices are in effect January 2, 2007.
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