WIST: Word Identification and Spelling Test

Identifies students who are struggling with reading and spelling.

Testing Time: 40 minutes
Administration: Individual 

Features of the WIST:

• Measures word identification, spelling, and sound-symbol knowledge.
• Identifies students who are struggling with reading and spelling.
• Includes an elementary version (grades 2-5) and a secondary version (grades 6-12).
• Is easy to administer and score.
• Converts raw scores to percentiles, standard scores, and age and grade equivalents.
• Is both valid and reliable for its stated purposes.
• Includes an extensive, yet practical, informal assessment system for analyzing student performance that leads to instructional intervention.

The WIST meets teachers' need for detailed information that can be used to identify the areas in which students are having difficulty with reading and/or spelling and to develop appropriate instructional interventions. It includes both norm-referenced and informal assessments. The WIST specifically targets those aspects of reading that are most important for the identification and treatment of poor and disabled readers.

The WIST is a nationally standardized, individually administered diagnostic test that assesses students' fundamental literacy skills. It can be used by anyone who has training in standardized test administration. It was was normed on a representative sample of 1520 children and adolescents ranging in age from 7 to 18 years who resided in 16 states.

The WIST has three subtests which can be used in either the Norm-Referenced or Informal assessment. The Norm-Referenced assessment has two "core" subtests (Word Identification and Spelling) and one "supplemental" subtest (Sound-Symbol Knowledge) and a composite score (called the Fundamental Literacy Index). On the Informal assessment, the scores are used for clinical and instructional purposes. The three subtests of the WIST are:

1. Word Identification: Word Identification measures word reading accuracy which includes (a) students' sight recognition of familiar words and their ability to apply word attack skills in order to decode unfamiliar words and (b) their sight recognition or orthographic memory of high frequency words with one or more irregularities.
2. Spelling: The spelling subtest assesses students' ability to spell words correctly from dictation. Specifically measures students' (a) recall of correct letter sequences for familiar words or oneÕs ability to apply sound/symbol relationships and rules of English orthography in order to spell unfamiliar words and (b) their recall of letter order in high-frequency words with one or more irregularities.
3. Sound-Symbol Knowledge: This subtest assesses a student's ability to associate sound(s) (i.e., phonemes) with specific letter(s) (i.e., graphemes).

   Three informal procedures provide additional diagnostic information about the student's performance on: (a) the test items, (b) sound-symbol skills, and (c) errors peculiar to written words. Information from these analyses will enhance the examiner's interpretation of the child's test performance and help formulate a literacy intervention plan. (©2004)

COMPLETE WIST KIT INCLUDES:

• Examiner's Manual
• 25 Elementary Examiner Record Booklets
• 25 Secondary Examiner Record Booklets
• 50 Spelling Response Forms
• Word Card-Regular Words
• Word Card-Irregular Words
• Word Card-Letter/Pseudo Words
• Elementary Spelling Card
• Secondary Spelling Card
• Irregular Spelling Card
• all in a sturdy storage box.

User Qualifications:

To administer this test at least a master s degree is required, with state licensure OR certification from a professional organization (ASHA, AOTA, APA, AERA, ACA, AMA, NASP, NAN, INS) that requires formal training and experience in ethics, psychometrics, statistics, and scoring and interpretation. Tests of perceptual, academic, and functional processes used in schools, clinics and rehabilitation settings are of this level. All test users, regardless of level and profession, are expected to abide by the standards set forth by the APA, AERA and NCME regarding the ethical use, protection and dissemination of all test materials. All orders for the products listed below, must be placed on official institutional purchase order forms or professional letterhead.

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