PSYCHOEDUCATIONAL EVALUATION
Phalange, Regina
Date of Birth: 05/09/2005
Chronological Age: 10-2
Date of Evaluation: 07/06/2015
Liliana Bermejo, B.A
REASON FOR REFERRAL: Regina was referred for an evaluation by Mrs. Brown to determine
academic strengths and weaknesses and to assess Regina’s current skills.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION: Regina is currently attending Glen Lea Elementary School
in Richmond County. She will be starting 4th grade in September.
BEHAVIORAL OBSERVATIONS: It should be noted that the setting of the testing was outside
on a table near a playground. So considering the setting of the testing, Regina’s behavior was
considered to be cooperative. However, Regina was often distracted and her focus was directed
elsewhere during testing. Regina looked around the playground, individuals walking and cars
driving by, and other students testing. Regina seemed attentive when being asked questions or
when given instructions but when it was her turn to answer, she answered looking around her
environment rather than looking at the administrator or test booklet. During times Regina seemed
distracted, test administrator asked whether she needed a break, and Regina declined and
proceeded to continue looking around her environment. During testing, Regina read questions
along with the administrator and answered sample questions before the administrator finished
instructing multiple times. Regina was successfully explained to wait for instruction before
answering by the administrator. A positive rapport was maintained with Regina and results are
considered reliable measure of Regina’s current academic and cognitive skills.
TESTS ADMINISTERED:
Woodcock-Johnson-IV (WJ-IV)
TEST DATA:
Woodcock-Johnson-IV (see attached)
TEST INTERPRETATIONS: The Woodcock-Johnson III (WJ-IV) was administered to Regina
to assess cognitive abilities, scholastic aptitude and achievement. The WJ-IV is composed of
two sections, cognitive and achievement sections. These batteries comprise a wide age-range,
comprehensive system for measuring general intellectual ability (g), specific cognitive abilities,
oral language, and academic achievement. The WJ III batteries are designed to provide valid
methods for determining strengths and weaknesses based upon actual discrepancy norms.
The WJ-III cognitive section is designed to assess comprehension-knowledge, long-term
retrieval, visual-spatial thinking, auditory processing, fluid reasoning, processing speed, and
short-term memory. Overall Regina performed in the borderline to deficient range with letter
pattern matching and story recall falling in the average range and visualization in the low
average range. Regina was successful with items that included visual orientation, such
identifying spatial relations, and letters that are like. However, while Regina has strengths in
visual orientation such as identification, Regina has difficulties processing visual information,
and completing tasks involving fluid reasoning and synthesis, as evident in the Concept
Formation section. It should be noted that during the Concept Formation section, Regina often
pointed to the answer before the administrator asked the question. Administrator asked Regina to
wait for instructions to be read and she successfully followed directions for the rest of the test.
Regina also demonstrated success in short-term memory, evident in Story Recall. Regina
demonstrates short-term information retrieval skills such as immediately repeating what she
hears. However, Regina falls in the deficient range, when it involves using auditory processing
and using information heard abstractly, evident in Phonological Processing and Verbal Attention.
While Regina performed in the deficient range for numbers reversed, which uses short-term
memory and less auditory processing abstractly, it should be noted that during this exam, Regina
had to be redirected. Regina often looked around her environment while listening to the audio
recording, causing her to miss part of the question. As a result, Regina repeated the numbers
back to the administrator. For example, when asked to repeat the numbers 8-5-2-6 backwards,
Regina responded 8-5-2-6.
The achievement section of the Woodcock-Johnson-III was administered to Regina to
determine skill levels in reading, oral expression, listening comprehension, mathematics, and
written language. Regina’s report indicated that her skills are within the deficient range, with
spelling, writing samples and oral reading skills ranging borderline. Regina’s report indicates a
significant impairment in the ability to read and write fluently with speed, as evident through the
Sentence Reading Fluency and Sentence Writing Fluency tests. Both of these sections were
timed and required a combination of reading and processing skills. A minute into the Sentence
Reading Fluency section, administrator observed Regina comment on another administrator’s
shirt remarking it was inside out. Furthermore, during times when Regina was focused on the
testing during the Reading Fluency section, she often read sentences out loud as she wrote them
down in the booklet, however as time progressed she began circling answers without reading the
sentences. During the Sentence Writing Fluency section Regina was observed doing a similar
behavior, looking around the playground a minute into the time and whispering her thoughts out
loud, perhaps using this technique to redirect her attention to the assigned work. During Writing
Sample, which is a task that also measures written language, without a timer, Regina scored in
the borderline range, slightly higher, exemplifying some fluency in writing without speed.
During Calculations, Applied Problems and Math Fluency, Regina relied on her fingers, placing
her fingers to her chin, to compute mathematical problems. During Math Fluency, another timed
section, Regina often looked around her environment while answering math questions. Regina’s
profile also indicated that she has difficulty computing math problems with speed and without
speed. Often Regina disregarded the operational signal and reversed numbers when solving
problems. During the Applied Problems section, a section not timed, Regina showed urgency in
answering the question by reading the question with the test administer and answering quickly.
Regina also demonstrated difficulties in correctly identifying grammar and spelling in written
language, evident in the Spelling and Oral Reading sections. Regina was successful in reading
words such as “important” and spelling words such as “dinner” and “water”. However, in the
Spelling she spelled “walk” as “walked” and in the Oral Reading she read “largest” as “large”,
“worker” as “work, and “smaller” as “small”.
SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS: Regina is a student ranging in academic skills,
cognitive abilities, scholastic aptitude and achievement in borderline and deficient. She shows
weaknesses in auditory and visual processing, but strengths in short-term memory recall. Regina
also experiences considerable difficulties focusing on questions in an exterior environment.
However, due to the setting of the testing, Regina’s difficulty with focusing and her attention
span should be further analyzed in an interior and quieter environment to determine whether her
profile is consistent with an attention deficit. Nevertheless, Regina’s difficulty focusing and
tuning out distractions may impede her school performance and so she may require a stimulus
free environment when learning. At this point, Regina’s profile and difficulties are consistent
with that of a learning disability. In order to help Regina focus on instruction and details, using
techniques such as movement and active learning may be of assistance. Eliminating timed work
and providing Regina with extra time, when given timed work, would eliminate the likelihood of
Regina getting distracted and rushing through her work to complete the tasks.
Submitted by:
Liliana Bermejo, B.A.
Student-In-Training
Virginia Commonwealth University
See attached sample report