Academic
achievement ability refers to a child's accomplishment
level and the extent of learning that has been
achieved within a learning environment. In other words, how
much basic academic skills a child has at any given stage.
These skills are defined as reading,
writing, arithmetic skills and comprehension.
While
children acquire academic skills at different rates (some are fast
learners and others may take a little longer to learn), there are
expected norms that children should achieve by a certain age.
Performance above the expected level may indicate superior learning
ability, whereas significantly below the expected level may suggest
learning disability.
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WHAT WE
OFFER
At CPAC we offer detailed and
individual assessment of academic abilities. This means
that our clinician will test your child one-on-one and
will make sure that he/she is engaging with the activities.
This will produce the most representative result of your
child's academic skills.
We also
prepare professional and detailed reports that
will assist both parents and teachers to plan
for children's academic future. The assessment
results may be used to help decision making about special
education programs, enrichment, extension or acceleration
programs. Our reports are recognised by the Board
of Studies and also accepted by international schools
aboard.
We will provide feedback about areas of
concern that may need further attention. Similarly, we
will provide feedback about areas of strength that may
represent preferred learning style and academic
interest. If your child's NAPLAN results are not what you
expected, we will be able to re-assess his/her academic skills
and comment on the results.
If you are concerned that
your child might be suffering from a learning disability,
please follow the link here. |
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MEASURING ACHIEVEMENT
ABILITY
Measuring general achievement
ability is in some ways similar to the measurement of intellectual ability
. Tests of general achievement are divided into separate
subtests that aim to assess different academic skills.
Each skill domain consists of a number of subtests, as in
testing reading ability may include word reading, reading
comprehension and word decoding. Achievement ability is
determined by the calculation of composite scores (skill
domains) and a final average score. Classifications
of achievement ability are as follows:
| Classification |
Range |
Percentile
Rank |
| Very
Superior |
130
and above |
98
and above |
| Superior |
120-129 |
91-97 |
| High
Average |
110-119 |
75-90 |
| Average |
90-109 |
25-74 |
| Low
Average |
80-89 |
9-24 |
| Borderline |
70-79 |
2-8 |
| Extremely
Low |
69
and below |
below
2 |
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TESTS AND SPECIFIC
SUBJECT AREA
In most cases, simple achievement
tests are appropriate to screen children's
accomplishment levels. For example, the Wide Range Achievement
Test - 3 (WRAT-3) contains one subtest for
each reading, spelling and arithmetic skills, but yields
reliable and sound results. Similarly, the Wechsler Individual
Achievement Test - 2nd Edition - Abbreviated version
(WIAT-II-A) relies on one subtest per domain to calculate
children's reading, spelling and numerical
operations abilities.
In other cases,
especially with learning difficulties in
specific domains, certain subject areas may need to be tested
in detail. For example, when a general assessment
identifies difficulty with spelling it is necessary to
test for associated areas such as written expression and
listening comprehension. It is also appropriate and
advised to use more than one test to assess that specific
domain. |
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ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT
ABILITY AND ACTUAL SCHOOL PERFORMANCE
In most
cases test results of achievement ability reliably predict
school performance. However, there are a number of factors
that parents need to take into account when they think about
test results.
First, achievement ability only reflects
a child's academic performance at the time of testing
and in some cases can change over time. Contextual
factors, such as family difficulties, relocation,
illness, divorce and so on, can effect children's
motivation to learn and can improve or hinder what they
can accomplish. For example, a child growing up in a
disruptive family environment may perform on a level that
indicates low achievement ability, but after improved
circumstances he/she may begin to pay more attention and
develop more interest in academic tasks and perform better.
Second, test results of achievement ability are based
on the performance of children who comprised the original
sample. Schools, on the other hand, can differ in their
composition of students who may not reliably compare
to a given test's sample characteristics.
Therefore, a child may perform relatively low/high
on an achievement test, but his/her actual school
performance may still be higher/lower than his/her class
mates' results.
A good advise to parents is to
maintain a stable environment for their children, and if there
are known risk factors and difficulties, try to
improve them. |
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