WRAT-4-PMV
by Gale H. Roid, PhD and Mark F. Ledbetter, PsyD
Purpose: Monitor academic progress in students aged 5-17yrs and college
Age: 5 to 94 years
Admin: Individual or group
Time: Approximately 10-15 minutes to administer and score all four subtests
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The WRAT4-PMV is an adaptation of the Wide Range Achievement Test 4 (WRAT4) and is specifically designed as a reliable, time-efficient instrument for monitoring the academic progress of students ages 5-17yrs and college. Measuring four basic academic areas (i.e., word reading, sentence comprehension, spelling, math computation), the WRAT4-PMV is composed of six levels that correspond to specific grade-range academic content appropriate for assessing and monitoring progress. Each WRAT4-PMV level consists of four parallel 15-item forms (i.e., probes) that are psychometrically equivalent.
Uses of the WRAT4-PMV
The WRAT4-PMV is an ideal instrument for teachers, psychologists, educational diagnosticians, and other assessment professionals to use to obtain a performance baseline and, if necessary, to monitor a student's academic performance through brief repeated test administrations throughout the school year. The WRAT4-PMV expands the utility of the WRAT4 by providing design features that enable users to efficiently monitor the progress of students who have learning difficulties, students in special education placements, underachieving students in regular education placements, and students who exhibit other conditions that affect school learning. Specific applications of the WRAT4-PMV include:
Evaluating Level of Performance
Examiners can determine a student's level of performance relative to a nationally representative sample of grade-level peers by using the color-shaded normative profile. This eliminates the need to convert Total Raw Scores to derived scores when evaluating performance within a WRAT4-PMV level.
Out of Level Testing
Out of level testing can provide valuable information as well as an accurate measurement and can be accomplished using shorter tests. Depending on the achievement level of a student, examiners can administer a WRAT4-PMV level that is below or above the student's enrolled grade level. Matching the appropriate test difficulty level with the achievement grade level of a student (i.e., "out of level" testing) can be an effective way to elicit student participation in the evaluation.
Evaluating Changes in Performance Over Time
Within a WRAT4-PMV level, repeated administrations of equivalent subtest forms enable examiners to graphically examine student performance at various time intervals. Evaluating meaningful change in performance over time is facilitated by using the Within Level Score Comparison Tables.
For progress monitoring across grades using different WRAT4-PMV levels, Total Raw Scores on any subtest level/form can be converted to derived Level Equivalent (LE) scores. LE scores provide a common metric across WRAT4-PMV levels, grades, and forms and are particularly useful in assessing across level score differences and by graphically representing potential growth or decline over longer periods of time.
Standardization
For the WRAT4-PMV normative sample, 1,929 individuals, age from 5 to 24 years were selected from the larger pool of WRAT4 standardization participants in order to obtain a nationally representative sample that was largely reflective of the development goals of the WRAT4-PMV. The WRAT4-PMV normative sample used demographic stratification variables for gender, race/ethnicity, educational attainment (as an index of socioeconomic status), and geographic region.
Reliability
Uses of the WRAT4-PMV
The WRAT4-PMV is an ideal instrument for teachers, psychologists, educational diagnosticians, and other assessment professionals to use to obtain a performance baseline and, if necessary, to monitor a student's academic performance through brief repeated test administrations throughout the school year. The WRAT4-PMV expands the utility of the WRAT4 by providing design features that enable users to efficiently monitor the progress of students who have learning difficulties, students in special education placements, underachieving students in regular education placements, and students who exhibit other conditions that affect school learning. Specific applications of the WRAT4-PMV include:
- Monitoring students who are not making adequate progress within the standard curriculum or general education instructional approach in order to document the need for an informal or formal evaluation referral.
- Quarterly progress monitoring of students in special education programs.
- Monitoring of instructional effectiveness for students in general education in order to evaluate response to alternative instructional methods.
- Monitoring effectiveness of informal or formal tutoring programs or response to intensive specialized interventions.
- Normative benchmark evaluation of basic academic areas.
- Monitoring to assist with informing decisions regarding future educational placement of students.
- Assist educational decision making by providing a norm-referenced perspective that can be combined with informal curriculum or criterion-referenced probes.
Evaluating Level of Performance
Examiners can determine a student's level of performance relative to a nationally representative sample of grade-level peers by using the color-shaded normative profile. This eliminates the need to convert Total Raw Scores to derived scores when evaluating performance within a WRAT4-PMV level.
Out of Level Testing
Out of level testing can provide valuable information as well as an accurate measurement and can be accomplished using shorter tests. Depending on the achievement level of a student, examiners can administer a WRAT4-PMV level that is below or above the student's enrolled grade level. Matching the appropriate test difficulty level with the achievement grade level of a student (i.e., "out of level" testing) can be an effective way to elicit student participation in the evaluation.
Evaluating Changes in Performance Over Time
Within a WRAT4-PMV level, repeated administrations of equivalent subtest forms enable examiners to graphically examine student performance at various time intervals. Evaluating meaningful change in performance over time is facilitated by using the Within Level Score Comparison Tables.
For progress monitoring across grades using different WRAT4-PMV levels, Total Raw Scores on any subtest level/form can be converted to derived Level Equivalent (LE) scores. LE scores provide a common metric across WRAT4-PMV levels, grades, and forms and are particularly useful in assessing across level score differences and by graphically representing potential growth or decline over longer periods of time.
Standardization
For the WRAT4-PMV normative sample, 1,929 individuals, age from 5 to 24 years were selected from the larger pool of WRAT4 standardization participants in order to obtain a nationally representative sample that was largely reflective of the development goals of the WRAT4-PMV. The WRAT4-PMV normative sample used demographic stratification variables for gender, race/ethnicity, educational attainment (as an index of socioeconomic status), and geographic region.
Reliability
- Median alpha reliability coefficients across the WRAT4-PMV six levels and four forms demonstrate very good internal consistency, especially given the brevity of the 15-item test forms. Alpha coefficients for the Word Reading, Sentence Comprehension, Spelling, and Math Computation subtests were .80, .81, .79, and .74, respectively.
- Test-retest stability coefficients and alternate-form reliabilities are presented for all WRAT4-PMV form combinations. Average test-retest reliability coefficients for the Word Reading, Sentence Comprehension, Spelling, and Math Computation subtests were .88, .89, .93, and .77, respectively. Average alternate-form reliability coefficients were .80 (Word Reading), .80 (Sentence Comprehension), .81 (Spelling), and .63 (Math Computation).
- The equivalency of the WRAT4-PMV forms within each of the six levels was rigorously examined using several methodologies. The median difference between the Total Raw Score means for the four forms across the six WRAT4-PMV levels ranged from .11 (Math Computation) to .18 (Spelling), demonstrating an extremely high degree of equivalency.
- Validity evidence for the WRAT4-PMV is derived from evaluating patterns of correlations among external measures of established constructs. Measures of achievement include the Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement: Second Edition–Brief Form (KTEA-II) and the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test®: Second Edition (WIAT®-II); measures of cognitive ability include the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale–Fifth Edition (SB5) and the Reynolds Intellectual Assessment Scale™ (RIAS™).
- Validity evidence also was derived from developmental studies and studies with groups of students with known characteristics (i.e., learning disabilities, above average and below average IQ, high or low verbal abilities relative to nonverbal abilities).
- The WRAT 4-PMV Professional Manual is comprehensive and contains all the information needed to administer, score, and interpret the WRAT4-PMV.
- The WRAT4-PMV Level Equivalent Profile is provided to plot LE scores and can be used with all levels and all subtests.
- The WRAT4-PMV Word Reading Record Sheet is used by the examiner; it contains the administration instructions and the letter and/or the words for each of the four forms on one side and space to summarize and profile scores on the other side. There is a separate Word Reading Record Form for each of the six levels.
- The WRAT4-PMV Word Reading List Card is used by the participant and contains the letters and/or the words for the Word Reading Subtest. There is a separate Word Reading List Card for each of the six levels.
- The WRAT4-PMV Sentence Comprehension Record Booklet is used by the examiner and contains the administration instructions, a place to record and score the participant's responses, and a list of correct and incorrect responses for each of the four forms. It also contains space to summarize and profile scores. There is a separate Sentence Comprehension Record Booklet for each of the six levels.
- The WRAT4-PMV Sentence Comprehension Card includes the Sentence Comprehension Subtest items that are read by the participant. It contains all four forms of the subtest. There is a separate card for each of the six levels.
- The WRAT4-PMV Sentence Comprehension Sample Card contains the sample items that are administered for practice purposes prior to the actual administration of the subtest. There is only one Sample Card used for all forms and all six levels.
- The Place Marker is provided for the participant to use as an aid while reading the sentences from the Sentence Comprehension Card.
- The WRAT4-PMV Spelling Response Booklet is used by the participant to record responses for each of the four forms. There is a separate Spelling Response Booklet for each of the six levels.
- The WRAT4-PMV Spelling Card is used by the examiner and includes the administration instructions and the letter and/or words that are read to the participant. There is a separate Spelling Card for each of the six levels.
- The WRAT4-PMV Math Computation Response Booklet is used by both the participant and the examiner. For Levels 1-3, it contains the correct responses for the Oral Math items and space to score the participant's responses. For all the levels, space is provided for the participant to record responses for the Math Computation items and for the examiner to summarize and profile scores. There is a separate Math Computation Response Booklet for each of the six levels.
- The WRAT4-PMV Math Computation Card is used by the examiner and contains the administration instructions and the correct responses to the Math Computation items. There is a separate Math Computation Card for each of the six levels.
- The WRAT4-PMV Oral Math Stimulus Card is used with Levels 1-3 only.
