TY - JOUR
T1 - Diagnosing children's writing disabilities
T2 - Different tests give different results
AU - Mayes, Susan D.
AU - Calhoun, Susan L.
AU - Lane, Susan E.
PY - 2005/8
Y1 - 2005/8
N2 - Writing problems are common in children with clinical disorders. However, there are significant intra-individual differences between the ability to spell words, construct sentences, and compose text. Therefore, achievement tests measuring different writing skills may not be consistent in identifying children who have these various writing disabilities. Our study compared scores on the Woodcock-Johnson Written Language subtests (which measure the ability to produce single words and single sentences) with scores on the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test Written Expression subtest (which assesses compositional writing skills) in 54 children referred by their teachers to a school psychologist for writing problems. The Woodcock-Johnson only identified 35% of children as having significant writing problems, whereas the Wechsler test identified 78%. Our study suggests that the latter is more likely than the Woodcock-Johnson to identify students who have problems in compositional writing.
AB - Writing problems are common in children with clinical disorders. However, there are significant intra-individual differences between the ability to spell words, construct sentences, and compose text. Therefore, achievement tests measuring different writing skills may not be consistent in identifying children who have these various writing disabilities. Our study compared scores on the Woodcock-Johnson Written Language subtests (which measure the ability to produce single words and single sentences) with scores on the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test Written Expression subtest (which assesses compositional writing skills) in 54 children referred by their teachers to a school psychologist for writing problems. The Woodcock-Johnson only identified 35% of children as having significant writing problems, whereas the Wechsler test identified 78%. Our study suggests that the latter is more likely than the Woodcock-Johnson to identify students who have problems in compositional writing.
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U2 - 10.2466/pms.101.1.72-78
DO - 10.2466/pms.101.1.72-78
M3 - Review article
C2 - 16350611
AN - SCOPUS:28044465370
SN - 0031-5125
VL - 101
SP - 72
EP - 78
JO - Perceptual and motor skills
JF - Perceptual and motor skills
IS - 1
ER -