THE DEVELOPMENT AND APPLIED UTILITY OF A NORMATIVE APTITUDE–ACHIEVEMENT TAXONOMY FOR THE WOODCOCK-JOHNSON PSYCHO-EDUCATIONAL BATTERY-REVISED

Abstract

This study developed a normative core profile taxonomy of the most common aptitude and achievement scales in the Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery-Revised (WJ-R; Woodcock & Johnson, 1989). Eight scales were included in the analyses: the WJ-R's four scholastic aptitudes and their four corresponding achievement scales. Cluster analysis was used to sort 2,620 students from the standardization sample of the WJ-R. Results of internal and external validity analyses provided support for eight core profiles. Both theoretical and practical implications are discussed in terms of how the ability and achievement scores covary in the population. Practical implications and utility are gained by providing a multivariate procedure through which the distinctiveness of a given child's aptitude-achievement profile can be assessed through comparison to the population core types.