WIAT Administration and Scoring Procedures 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the purpose of establishing a 'basal' on WIAT-4 subtests that use reverse rules?
- To identify the student's frustration level
- To ensure the student receives credit for items below the starting point assumed to be correct (Correct answer)
- To determine which normative table to use
- To set the time limit for the subtest
Correct answer: To ensure the student receives credit for items below the starting point assumed to be correct
The basal ensures examinees receive full credit for easier items below the entry point, reflecting the assumption they would have answered them correctly.
Question 2: On the WIAT-4, which standard score scale is used for all composite and subtest scores?
- Mean 50, SD 10
- Mean 100, SD 15 (Correct answer)
- Mean 10, SD 3
- Mean 500, SD 100
Correct answer: Mean 100, SD 15
WIAT-4 standard scores use a metric with a mean of 100 and standard deviation of 15, consistent with most cognitive and achievement batteries.
Question 3: Which WIAT-4 administration guideline applies when a student gives a two-part answer where one part is correct and one is incorrect?
- Score the response as correct if any part is accurate
- Score based on the first response given
- Score based on the best part of the response
- Score as incorrect unless the manual specifies otherwise (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Score as incorrect unless the manual specifies otherwise
When a student gives a correct and an incorrect part, the response is generally scored 0 unless the scoring guide explicitly allows partial credit.
Question 4: How should an examiner handle a student who begins writing before the examiner finishes reading the Spelling dictation sentence?
- Stop the student and re-read the entire sentence (Correct answer)
- Allow the student to continue; interrupting would be a non-standard administration
- Mark the item as invalid and move on
- Subtract one point as a procedural error
Correct answer: Stop the student and re-read the entire sentence
The examiner should stop the student and re-read the complete dictation sentence to ensure standardized administration.
Question 5: What does the WIAT-4 'Score Now, Clarify Later' approach refer to?
- Recording responses verbatim and scoring after administration is complete (Correct answer)
- Allowing students to revisit unclear answers after the session
- Entering raw scores without computing standard scores during testing
- Deferring item-level scoring to a scoring software
Correct answer: Recording responses verbatim and scoring after administration is complete
Recording responses verbatim during testing allows the examiner to focus on administration, then apply scoring criteria accurately afterward.
Question 6: For the WIAT-4 Pseudoword Decoding subtest, which type of error is NOT counted against the student's score?
- Mispronunciation of the vowel sound
- Consonant substitution
- Self-correction of an initial error (Correct answer)
- Omission of a final consonant
Correct answer: Self-correction of an initial error
Self-corrections on Pseudoword Decoding are scored as correct because the student successfully decoded the item on final production.
Question 7: When administering the WIAT-4 to a student who wears hearing aids, what accommodation is generally considered standard?
- Presenting all oral items in written format instead
- Ensuring the student's hearing aids are functioning and the examiner speaks at a normal pace (Correct answer)
- Increasing the time limits by 50% for all subtests
- Skipping all oral-language subtests
Correct answer: Ensuring the student's hearing aids are functioning and the examiner speaks at a normal pace
Ensuring functioning hearing aids and clear, normal-paced speech is part of standard best-practice administration, not a modification that invalidates norms.
WIAT Administration and Scoring Procedures 3
What is the purpose of establishing a 'basal' on WIAT-4 subtests that use reverse rules?