Performance of Learning Disabled University Students on the Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery, Part II: Tests of Achievement

Abstract

Identification and diagnosis of learning disabilities (LD) at the university level involves the appraisal of intelligence and achievement. This study examined the adequacy of one of the most popular individual achievement tests, the Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery, Part II: Tests of Achievement, with an LD university sample. The scores of 68 subjects referred to the University Program for Learning Disabled Students were analyzed. Means and standard deviations for each cluster and for each subtest were computed. Following this procedure, each test was analyzed to ascertain internal consistency of the subtests and clusters, item order, and ceiling effects. A notable lack of correspondence in item order between the normative population and this sample was observed on three of the subtests (Proofing, Word Attack, and Humanities), raising the question of validity of ceiling rules when testing LD university students. Ceiling effects were not as pervasive as those reported in studies with regular college students. Cluster and subtest reliabilities proved adequate for use in screening and diagnosis for the identification of university students with learning disabilities.