Achievement Test

An achievement test is any norm-referenced standardized test intended

to assess the current extent of a person’s mastered motor skill or
knowledge in a specific area/body of knowledge.
Administered following a period of instruction to teach the motor or
cognitive skill to be examined.
In practice, achievement test results often are interpreted as an
indicator of future performance

The prototypical achievement test is the periodic classroom exam that is

administered to determine how much the student has learned. Other examples
include the written and driving tests taken to secure a driver’s license, the
Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) and American College Test (ACT) taken by
high school students contemplating college, and the Graduate Records
Examination (GRE) taken by college students who want to go to graduate school.

3 Test Sample of an Achievement Test

1. The Gray Silent Reading Tests (GSRT) 2. Nelson-Denny Reading Test – Forms G&H
3. Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Achievement – Fourth Edition (WJA-IV)

1. The Gray Silent Reading Tests provides a quick and efficient measure of an individual’s silent reading
comprehension ability. GSRT is a new addition to the Gray reading test battery (is one of the most widely
used measures of oral reading fluency and comprehension in the United States). GSRT consists of two
parallel forms, each with 13 developmentally sequenced reading passages with 5 multiple-choice questions.
The administration of the test can be given to persons 7 yrs – 25 yrs old with a 15-30 minutest testing time.
It can be given individually or groups, in a variety of settings ( elem and secondary school, clinics, reading
centers and post-secondary environments. The two forms allow you to study an individual’s progress over
time. Each form of test yields raw scores, grade and age equivalents, percentiles and a Silent Reading
Quotient. Results may be used to identify individuals whose scores are significantly below those of their
peers and who might need additional assessment and intervention designed to improve reading
comprehension; to determine areas of relative strength and weakness across reading comprehension; to
document overall progress in reading development as a consequence of intervention programs; and to serve
as a measure for research efforts designed to investigate reading comprehension.
Complete Kit includes Manual, 25 Profile/Response Forms, and 10 each of Reading Book
Forms A and B, all in a sturdy storage box.

2. Nelson-Denny Reading Test – Forms G&H is a reading comprehension survey for hs & college students
and adults measuring the vocabulary level, comprehension and reading rate in words per minute. This test
is usefel in secondary sch placement for learning assessments. This can be administered individually or
groups with a testing time of 35-56 minutes. The test has 2 forms (Form G and H) both of which are
parallel forms that have been equated & can be used inerchangeably as pretests & post-tests. The two
subsets are vocabulary & comperehension ; vocabulary – consists of 80 multiple-choice items, each with 5
response options. The words were drawn from hs and college textbooks and vary in difficulty.
Comprehension – requires examinees to read five short passages also drawn to hs & co textbooks) & to
respond to 38 multiple-choice questions about the contents of these passages.

Other Features (mention only the bold text)

 Measures reading vocabulary, comprehension, and rate effectively in 35 minutes

 Aids in accurate placement of high school and college students at all reading levels
 Uses comprehension passages drawn from high school and college texts
 Focuses in the vocabulary section on words students need for success in school
 Offers optional extended-time administration to meet the needs of special populations, such as
English language learners
 Scores reported: percentile ranks, standard scores, grade equivalents, NCEs, stanines
 Avoids bias and sensitivity issue

3. Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Achievement – Fourth Edition (WJA-IV) is useful for screening, diagnosing
& monitoring progress in reading, writing and mathematics achievement areas. Basic skills, fluency
application are measured in each of these academic domains; academicknowledge in science, social studies
& humanities is also available. It is individually-administered & norm-referenced instrument for 2 yrs up to
90 yrs old with a 40 mins for 6 Standard Battery core subsets; 15-20 mins for Writing Samples test; 5-10
mins for all remaining tests. The Standard Battery includes 11 tests, while the Extended Battery contains 9
tests yielding up to 22 cluster scores across four domains.
1. Reading (Reading, Broad Reading, Basic Reading, Reading Comprehension, Reading Fluency, Reading
Rate)
2. Math ( Mathematics, Broad Mathematics, Math Calculation Skills, Math Problem Solving)
3. Writing (Written Language, Broad Written Language, Basic Writing Skills, Written Expression
4. Cross Domain Cluster scores ( Academic Skills, Academic Applications,
Academic Fluency, Academic Knowledge, & Phoneme-Grapheme Knowledge)