WIAT III Assessment Report

Examinee: Student
Date of Birth :
School:
Sex: Male

Testing Date:
Age: 9 Years; 10 months
Grade: 4 French Immersion

REASON FOR REFERRAL

Student is in a Grade 4 French Immersion classroom at XX School in XX, Alberta. He is the eldest of two
children and his younger brother is currently in Grade 1 at the same school. Student resides with both
parents and his maternal grandmother.
Students teacher and Learning Support Facilitator, referred Student for this assessment in order to
determine if academic difficulties were causing frustration for Student and impacting his behavior in the
classroom. They are also wondering if French Immersion is the most appropriate learning environment for
Student. Students teacher and Learning Support Facilitator indicated that he is frequently non-compliant by
verbally refusing to complete tasks or follow instructions. They noted he taps his pencil, calls out
inappropriate comments, and points out the mistakes of others. It was reported that Student experiences
difficulty persevering on a task even when provided with one on one support. His teacher also indicated
that he finds mathematics difficult as well as written output.
TEST BEHAVIOR
Students teacher and the Learning Support Facilitator were concerned that he would not willingly come to
the testing situation as he might interpret a call down to the office as a disciplinary action. This assessor
knew Student from his previous school it was decided that I would meet Student in the classroom. When
this assessor approached Student and attempted to initiate conversation, he avoided eye contact and
turned in his seat so his back was turned toward me. After making conversation with some of his
classmates, I attempted to engage Student in conversation again. He was non-responsive and shook his
head when I asked if he would come with me to do some work together. After a few minutes I asked him
quietly if he would like to bring a friend along and he agreed. He walked ahead of his classmate and myself
as we walked to the office, but did not resist when the other student returned to class.
Student avoided eye contact, shifted in his seat and turned his back toward me when answering questions
at the beginning of the assessment. However, as the test situation progressed, he became more engaged,
smiled and appeared more at ease. He asked once if he could return to class, but declined a break when it
was offered but a few minutes later asked for a drink of water. Overall he demonstrated appropriate effort
and persistence throughout the assessment except during the Essay Composition subtest where he
finished very quickly and had to be encouraged to try to write a full page. Student demonstrated increased
effort on subtests where he was timed or those that were accompanied by pictures.
TEST RESULTS AND INTERPRETATION
Student completed the Weschler Individual Achievement Test Third Edition (WIAT III), an achievement
measure which consists of subtests in Oral Language, Reading, Written Language, and Mathematics.

The Oral Language composite involves both Listening Comprehension and Oral Expression. Students
overall oral language abilities fell in the Below Average range at the 13 th percentile. Listening
comprehension was an area of challenge for Student as his score was in the Below Average range at the
10th percentile. Within the Listening Comprehension subtest, Student demonstrated difficulty with
Receptive Vocabulary where his score also fell in the Below Average range at the 5 th percentile. This
subtest required Student to listen to vocabulary words and point to a picture that illustrates each word. In
contrast, Student scored in the Average range on the Oral Discourse Comprehension subtest where he
was required to listen to a variety of recordings that increase in length and complexity. These results
indicate that Students overall vocabulary skills may be weaker than his ability to derive meaning from
words in context.
On the Oral Expression subtests, Student scored within the low end of the Average range at the 23 rd
percentile. While still within the Average range, Students lowest scores in this subtest were in Expressive
Vocabulary at the 23rd percentile and Sentence Repetition at the 16 th percentile. Sentence Repetition
involves repeating sentences verbatim that increase in length. Student struggled to accurately repeat
sentences. Tasks that required Student to comprehend verbal instructions and attend to verbal stories
(Listening Comprehension Index), fell in the Below Average range at the 13 th percentile. Students skills in
expressing himself (expressive language) are more developed than his listening comprehension and
receptive language.
Students overall Reading Composite score was within the Average range at the 53 rd percentile. His
scores on the subtests related to reading indicate that overall Students skills are similar to other children
his age. Students Word Reading score was at the 55 th percentile, Reading Comprehension at the 30 th
percentile and Pseudoword Decoding was Students highest score at the 84 th percentile. Students ability to
decode and read words out of context is higher than his comprehension and as a result he may be able to
access texts at higher level than he is able to understand. During the Reading Comprehension subtest
Student answered carefully and demonstrated the strategy of reading back to find answers in the
passages. Students teacher also indicated that based on classroom assessment, Students English
reading skills were appropriate for his age and grade level.
In Written Expression, Students overall score was at the 27th percentile at the lower end of the Average
range. Within this subtest, Students Sentence Composition score (53 rd percentile) and Spelling (37th
percentile) were both within the Average range. Student demonstrated an ability to create and combine
sentences that included proper grammar and mechanics. In contrast, Students Essay Composition score
fell in the Below Average range at the 9 th percentile. During this subtest, Student was asked to write an
essay on a familiar topic. Student said, Im done after 1 minute and 45 seconds. He was prompted to try
to write a full page, and again said he was finished at 3 minutes and 46 seconds. The content, theme,
organization and sentence structure of his essay were poorly developed. The speed at which Student
finished this subtest significantly impacted his score. In the classroom it was also reported that Student
experiences difficulty with written output and often completes longer assignments quickly.
Finally in Mathematics, Students composite score was in the Below Average range at the 6 th percentile.
This was an area of difficulty for him. Student scored in the Below Average range in Problem Solving and
at the 5th percentile and Below Average range on Numerical Operations. Students overall score on the
Math Fluency subtests fell in the Below Average range at the 12 th percentile. These results indicate that

Student is experiencing difficulty with Mathematics concepts, scoring with the Below Average range on all
three subtests.
SUMMARY
Student was referred for achievement testing because of behavioral concerns at school. His school team
wanted to know if Students academic skills were interfering with Students ability to cope successfully in his
Grade 4 French Immersion classroom. Students reading achievement overall is evenly developed and his
scores fell within the Average range when compared to his grade level peers. His ability to spell, compose
and combine sentences was also in the Average range. During Essay Composition, the speed at which
Student completed the task significantly impacted his score and may not be a true representation of his
ability in this area. In contrast, his Average scores on the sentence writing subtests indicate that Student is
able to write complete sentences that include capitalization, punctuation and spelling. This could mean that
while Students writing skills are evenly developed, he finds it difficult to persevere on longer tasks.
Students receptive vocabulary and listening comprehension are less developed than his expressive
vocabulary. He may not always fully understand instruction and direction. This could be impacting him in
both his French and English classes. In addition, Students mathematics skills overall were a weakness for
him and he will require supports in this area.
RECOMMENDATIONS
1. A cognitive assessment is recommended in order to gain a broader understanding of Students
strengths and weaknesses.
2. Student is demonstrating significant signs of low tolerance of frustration related to academic tasks
and social situations. The Behavior Assessment for Children Second Edition (BASC-2)
questionnaires completed by his parents, teacher and Student would assist in providing additional
information related to his behavior.
3. Students school team and parents should evaluate whether French Immersion continues to be an
appropriate setting for him. While it is likely some behaviors would occur regardless of the
language of instruction, the reduced demand of only one language may lessen Students
frustration.
4. Student would benefit from the support of a scribe for longer assignments that require written
expression or output. Text to speech software such as Read and Write Gold or WordQ may also
provide additional support for Student when writing.
5. Student may benefit from scheduled breaks throughout his day when he is able to leave the
classroom. A suggestion might be to implement a task-task-task-break schedule and allow him
flexibility regarding the order of the tasks that need to be completed.
6. A Check-In/Check-Out system may also support Student and assist him in establishing a positive
relationship with an adult at the school and also to develop goal setting, self-monitoring, awareness
and positive reinforcement related to his behavior at school.

7. Students skills related to Mathematics are a weakness. He may require accommodations

regarding the amount of questions he is expected to complete, with a focus upon the most
essential outcomes.
8. Student appeared to be motivated by the timed portions of this assessment. A strategy to increase
Students motivation to complete a task would be to set up a designated time to complete a portion
of his work (chunking the task) and allowing Student to see if he can beat the clock. Care would
have to be taken to ensure the amount of time is appropriate as well as encouraging him to do his
best.
It was a pleasure working with Student and I hope the information presented in the report may be of
assistance. If you have any questions about this report, please do not hesitate to contact me at XXX-XXXX
____________________
Alison Lessard
Learning Support Facilitator
Masters in Educational Psychology Student

Subtest

Subtest Description

Reading
Word Reading
Reading Comprehension
Pseudoword Decoding
Oral Reading Fluency
Early Reading Skills

The student reads aloud a list of

increasingly difficult words
The student reads passages aloud or
silently and then answers open-ended
questions about each one.
The student reads aloud a list of
increasingly difficult nonsense words.
The student reads passages aloud, then
orally responds to comprehension
questions.
Students (K-3) name the letters of the
alphabet, identify beginning and ending
sounds, recognize blends and match
words to pictures.

Mathematics
Numerical Operations
Problem Solving

Math Fluency-Addition
Math Fluency Subt.
Math Fluency Mult.

The student solves un-timed written

math equations that increase in
difficulty.
Depending upon the grade level of the
student, the student solves un-timed
math problems related to basic skills,
everyday applications and algebra.
The student solves written addition
equations within a 60 second time limit.
The student solves written subtraction
equations within a 60 second time limit.
The student solves written multiplication
equations within a 60 second time limit.

Written Expression
Sentence Composition
Spelling
Essay Composition
Oral Language
Listening Comprehension

The student combines the information

from 2-3 sentences into a single
sentence.
The student writes single words that are
dictated within the context of a
sentence.
The student writes an essay within a 10minute time limit.
The student listens to vocabulary words
and points to a picture that illustrates
each word, then listens to passages and
answers questions about each one.

Standard
Score
101

Percentile
53

Qualitative
Description
Average

102

55

Average

92

30

Average

115

84

Average

110

50

Average

N/A

N/A

N/A

77

Below Average

74

Below Average

82

12

Below Average

88

21

Average

78

Below Average

77

Below Average

91

27

Average

101

53

Average

95

37

Average

84

14

Below Average

83
81

13
10

Below Average
Below Average

Oral Expression

The student is shown pictures and is

asked to name the concept shown in
each picture, says words form a given
category and repeats sentences.

Age Based Composite and Canadian Norms

89

23

Average