The Woodcock-Johnson 111 Complete Battery (WJ-111) intelligence assessment is more than just an intelligence test. It has been suggested that we consider using the term general ability as opposed to the term intelligence testing because it seems to have negative connotations (Whiston, 2013). The WJ-111 is based off of the Cattell, Horn, and Carrol model in that it studies cognitive ability.
The WJ-111 a battery exam and intelligence test which means that it is able to assess general intellectual ability and specific cognitive abilities, scholastic aptitude, oral language, and academic achievement for all clients age range from two through ninety (Whiston, 2013; McGrew & Woodcock, 2001). Therefore, the WJ-111-COG (measure general and specific cognitive functions) and the WJ-111-ACH (determines academic strengths and limitation) combined make up the WJ-111. A standard version and an extended versions are available for both tests. Both the WJ-111-ACH and the WJ-111COG are normed “the WJ-111 instrument is often used to examine intra-individual discrepancies in achievement, variations in …show more content…
ability areas (verbal vs. thinking), and differences between ability and achievement” (Whiston, 20103, p. 145; McGrew & Woodcock, 2001). The standard version for the WJ-111-COG entails tests one through ten while the extended consists of tests from eleven through twenty and two parallel forms make up the WJ-111-ACH. The standard has seven clusters (Verbal ability, thinking ability, cognitive efficiency, broad reading, broad math, broad written language, and oral language), while the extended has fourteen.
Strength Related to Ethical/Multicultural Considerations “Counselors not only understand the technical aspects of the instruments but are also aware of the cultural limitations. This allows them to use test instruments for the welfare of culturally different clients” (Association for Multicultural Counseling and Development, 1996). It is the responsibility of the counselor to be multicultural aware, knowledgeable of their client’s cultural background, and to be cultural competent. WJ-111-COG and WJ-111-ACH can both be used in post-secondary schools as a means to provide information on the abilities of the multi-culturally diverse students who do not speak English. This reports how these students function in informal and academic settings. The Bilingual Verbal Ability Tests uses subsets from the WJ-R as an instrument for bilingual assessment. This is a major strength because it means that the WJ-111 is multi-culturally sensitive for nonnatives.
Limitation Ethical/Multicultural Considerations The advanced way in helping diagnose learning disabilities is with the Response to Interventions (RIT) approach.
The RIT assesses how students respond to academic interventions and is administered by the teachers. Ethical Code E.2.a. Limits of Competence states that professionals “use only those testing and assessment services for which they have been trained and are competent” (ACA, 2005, p. 11). It is absolutely not ethical for teachers to employ such an assessment if they do not have the knowledge, experience, or skill in assessing a multi-culturally diverse student. Understanding the cultural limitations of each assessment is equally important because some assessments are biased and some are not sensitive to diversity. If the teachers are not aware of this, then they misinterpret the findings of the assessment
administered.
References
American Counseling Association. (2005). ACA Code of Ethics. Retrieved from http://www.counseling.org/Resources/aca-code-of-ethics.pdf Association for Multicultural Counseling and Development (1996). AMCD multicultural counseling competencies. Retrieved from http://www.counseling.org/Resources/Competencies/Multcultural_Competencies.pdf
McGrew, K. S., & Woodcock, R. W. (2001). Woodcock-Johnson 111: Technical manual. Itasca, IL:
Riverside.
Wechsler, D. (1944). The measurements of adult intelligence. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkens.
Whiston, S. C. (2013). Principles and applications of assessment in counseling (4th ed.). Belmont, CA:
Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning.