Case Study 1 The assessment that was given was the Woodcock-Johnson III Test of achievement (WJ III). The assessment covers many areas of interest such as the basic reading, reading comprehension, reading fluency, mathematical calculations and written experience. The purpose of the assessment was created to measure the overall intelligence and cognitive capabilities of children starting at the age of two. The reasoning’s for administering the test are, program placement, planning individual programs, guidance, assessing growth, program evaluation, and research. The WJ III is also utilized to identify a student’s eligibility for special education services that are outlined by the Individual with Disabilities Act (IDEA). According to the IDEA consideration is made for students with learning disability and can range from "discrepancy between intellectual ability and achievement in one or more areas," this enables the WJ III a model assessment for this determination (Nelson Education, 2009). According to the Technical Manual the WJ III meets criterions of being a reliable source. On the standard battery, the median reliability coefficient alphas range from .81 to .94. The median coefficients on the extended battery range from .76 to .91. Based upon the high reliabilities, the conclusion is that the assessment can be used for resolution of what placement would be in the best interest of the student. There were several different strategies that were used in order to discover the reliability of the WJ III. The reliabilities for the majority of the tests were deliberated using the split-half procedure, in which the test was split in two different sections. One part of the test was split into even numbers and the other portion of the test was the even numbers. The association between the two sections of the test, where utilized to derive a split-half reliability coefficient.
According to the Technical Manual, the scores produced by the test have validity. The content in the WJ III is measurable to the curriculum that is being taught in schools and that are utilized in other assessments. The Manual gives validity indication grounded on the test content, developmental patterns of scores, internal structure, and relationships to other external variables. All of the tests and clusters show average score changes that follow with the developmental growth and decline of achievement abilities across the ages for which the test is used. This evaluation was made by a multidisciplinary team or group of people including a general education teacher, a specialist trained in the area of learning disabilities, and an assessment specialist. The assessment was administered by a trained The WJ III also has internal structure validity. It correlates highly with other tests that are measuring the same abilities. Overall, the WJ III shows validity because its test scores can be used for their proposed purpose (Mather, 2001). The assessment was administers to assess educational performance in the areas in which the student had appropriate learning experiences. Based upon the results of the assessment, evidence of the student’s current level has been presented, for a committee to determine what the appropriate placement would be for the student. As in in assessment there a certain protocol rules that have to be maintained to receive adequate results of an assessment. The WJ III is a timed assessment. In the room in which the student was given the assessment in, there was a timer. Before each assessment given the timer was set, and when the time was up a slight beep went off to notify the administrator that time was up. During the test the administrator, diagnostician, and the teacher noticed that each time the timer was set, as well as during the test, and even when timer was finished, the student became nervous. The assessment was stopped and redone, this time using signals that the