Introduction
Assessing academic achievement is a vital component of the assessment process. Understanding where a child has strengths and weaknesses in academic areas is necessary if you are going to diagnose a possible disability. There are numerous areas professionals can assess when giving an achievement test. Regardless of the number of areas, reading, writing, math, and spelling are part of every initial assessment battery for possible classification and/or placement in special education. We always need to know how a child compares academically, relative to the norms of the population. Therefore, all special educators should be able to read scores from achievement tests and, at a minimum, have a general understanding of what the assessment measures test and the purpose of the testing. For those who must administer achievement batteries, it is essential that a complete, thorough, valid, and reliable battery be given. This issue of NASET’s Assessment in Special Education Series will focus on the latest comprehensive tests of academic achievement. These tests normally offer a thorough approach to the assessment of a child’s strengths and weaknesses in reading, writing, math, and spelling.
