Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement, Third Edition (KTEA 3)

The Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement, Third Edition (KTEA-3) is an individually administered
measure of academic achievement for grades prekindergarten through 12, or ages 4 through 25. It provides an
analysis of a student’s academic strengths and weaknesses in reading, mathematics, and written language. The
Academic Skills Battery composite includes two subtests from each core academic area. In addition, the KTEA
3 provides measures of all eight specific learning disability areas identified in the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Improvement Act of 2004.
Category Standard Score
Very High 130 or above
High 120-129
Above Average 110-119
Average 90-109
Below Average 80-89
Low 70-79
Very Low 69 or below

Core Composite Score Summary Table

Sum of
Subtest 90%
Subtest Standard Percentile Descriptive Age
Composite/Subtest Raw Confidence GSV
Standard Scores Rank Category Equivalent
Scores Interval
Scores

Core Composites

Academic Skills
Above
Battery (ASB) - 673 114 111 - 117 82 - -
average
Composite
Math Concepts & Below
65 - 89 84 - 94 23 - 535
Applications average
Letter & Word
99 - 126 121 - 131 96 High - 613
Recognition

Written Expression 711 - 127 117 - 137 96 High - 538

Math Computation 61 - 95 90 - 100 37 Average - 549

Spelling 68 - 137 131 - 143 99 Very high - 623

Reading
151 - 99 92 - 106 47 Average - 559
Comprehension
Above
Reading Composite - 225 114 109 - 119 82 - -
average
Letter & Word
99 - 126 121 - 131 96 High - 613
Recognition
Reading
151 - 99 92 - 106 47 Average - 559
Comprehension

Math Composite - 184 91 87 - 95 27 Average - -

Math Concepts & Below

65 - 89 84 - 94 23 - 535
Applications average

Math Computation 61 - 95 90 - 100 37 Average - 549

Written Language
- 264 136 129 - 143 99 Very high - -
Composite

Written Expression 711 - 127 117 - 137 96 High - 538

Spelling 68 - 137 131 - 143 99 Very high - 623

Supplemental Composite Score Summary Table
Sum of
Subtest 90%
Subtest Standard Percentile Descriptive Age
Composite/Subtest Raw Confidence GSV
Standard Scores Rank Category Equivalent
Scores Interval
Scores
Supplemental Composites
Sound-Symbol Composite - 238 123 118 - 128 94 High - -
Above
Phonological Processing 48 - 119 112 - 126 90 - 531
average
Above
Nonsense Word Decoding 51 - 119 114 - 124 90 - 566
average
Decoding Composite - 245 123 119 - 127 94 High - -
Letter & Word Recognition 99 - 126 121 - 131 96 High - 613
Above
Nonsense Word Decoding 51 - 119 114 - 124 90 - 566
average
Reading Fluency Composite - 323 108 102 - 114 70 Average - -
Above
Silent Reading Fluency 69 - 113 103 - 123 81 - 539
average
Word Recognition Fluency 501 - 95 87 - 103 37 Average - 543
Above
Decoding Fluency 42 - 115 105 - 125 84 - 572
average
Reading Understanding Above
- 222 112 106 - 118 79 - -
Composite average
Reading Comprehension 151 - 99 92 - 106 47 Average - 559
Reading Vocabulary 53 - 123 116 - 130 94 High - 591
Oral Language Composite - 283 92 82 - 102 30 Average - -
Associational Fluency 4 - 40 25 - 55 <0.1 Very low - 408
Listening Comprehension 261 - 120 110 - 130 91 High - 556
Oral Expression 311 - 123 111 - 135 94 High - 530
Oral Fluency Composite - 140 63 49 - 77 1 Very low - -
Associational Fluency 4 - 40 25 - 55 <0.1 Very low - 408
Object Naming Facility 74 - 100 86 - 114 50 Average - -
Above
Comprehension Composite - 219 111 104 - 118 77 - -
average
Reading Comprehension 151 - 99 92 - 106 47 Average - 559
Listening Comprehension 261 - 120 110 - 130 91 High - 556
Expression Composite - 250 131 122 - 140 98 Very high - -
Written Expression 711 - 127 117 - 137 96 High - 538
Oral Expression 311 - 123 111 - 135 94 High - 530
Orthographic Processing Above
- 329 111 104 - 118 77 - -
Composite average
Spelling 68 - 137 131 - 143 99 Very high - 623
Letter Naming Facility 79 - 97 85 - 109 42 Average - -
1
Word Recognition Fluency 50 - 95 87 - 103 37 Average - 543
Above
Academic Fluency Composite - 329 112 105 - 119 79 - -
average
Writing Fluency 47 - 108 96 - 120 70 Average - 559
Math Fluency 48 - 106 99 - 113 66 Average - 605
Above
Decoding Fluency 42 - 115 105 - 125 84 - 572
average
READING SUBTESTS:
Letter and Word Recognition The student reads isolated words aloud as quickly as possible during two 15-
second trials. Colleen scored a standard score of 126 placing her in the 96th percentile which means that she
scored better than 96 out of 100 of her same aged peers.
Reading Comprehension This untimed test of silent reading comprehension includes several item types. Early
items require matching a symbol or word(s) with its corresponding picture. Subsequent items require reading a
simple instruction and responding by performing the action. Later items involve reading passages of increasing
difficulty and answering literal and/or inferential questions about them. The most difficult items require
rearranging five sentences into a coherent paragraph, and then answering questions about the paragraph.
Colleen scored a standard score of 99 placing her in the 47th percentile which means that she scored better than
47 out of 100 of her same aged peers.
Silent Reading Fluency The student silently reads simple sentences and marks yes or no in the Response
Booklet to indicate whether the statement is true or false, completing as many items as possible within a two-
minute time limit. Colleen scored a standard score of 113 placing her in the 81st percentile which means that
she scored better than 81 out of 100 of her same aged peers.
Reading Vocabulary Early items require the student to point to one of three words with the same meaning as a
picture and target word. Each of the remaining items requires the examinee to read a sentence (silently or aloud)
and say or point to the word in the sentence that has a similar meaning to the target word. Colleen scored a
standard score of 123 placing her in the 94th percentile which means that she scored better than 94 out of 100 of
her same aged peers.
Nonsense Word Decoding The student applies phonics and structural analysis skills to decode nonsense words
of increasing difficulty. Colleen scored a standard score of 119 placing her in the 90th percentile which means
that she scored better than 90 out of 100 of her same aged peers.
Word Recognition Fluency The student reads isolated words aloud as quickly as possible during two 15-second
trials. Colleen scored a standard score of 95 placing her in the 37th percentile which means that she scored
better than 37 out of 100 of her same aged peers.
Decoding Fluency The student reads isolated nonsense words aloud as quickly as possible during two 15-
second trials. Colleen scored a standard score of 115 placing her in the 84th percentile which means that she
scored better than 84 out of 100 of her same aged peers.
MATH SUBTESTS:
Math Concepts and Applications The student responds orally to items that require the application of
mathematical principles to real-life situations. Skill categories include number concepts, operation concepts,
time and money, measurement, geometry, fractions and decimals, data investigation, and higher math concepts.
Colleen scored a standard score of 89 placing her in the 23rd percentile which means that she scored better than
23 out of 100 of her same aged peers.
Math Computation The student writes answers to as many math calculation problems as possible. Skills
assessed include simple counting and number identification; addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division
operations; fractions and decimals; square roots and exponents; and algebra. Colleen scored a standard score of
95 placing her in the 37th percentile which means that she scored better than 37 out of 100 of her same aged
peers.
Math Fluency The student writes answers to as many addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division
problems as possible in 60 seconds. Colleen scored a standard score of 106 placing her in the 66th percentile
which means that she scored better than 66 out of 100 of her same aged peers.

WRITING SUBTESTS:
Written Expression Prekindergarten and kindergarten students trace and copy letters, and write letters, words,
and a sentence from dictation. At grades 1 and higher, students complete writing tasks in the context of a grade-
appropriate story format. Items at those levels include writing sentences from dictation, adding punctuation and
capitalization, filling in missing words, completing sentences, combining sentences, writing compound and
complex sentences, and writing an essay based on the story. Colleen scored a standard score of 127 placing her
in the 96th percentile which means that she scored better than 96 out of 100 of her same aged peers.
Spelling The easiest items require students to write single letters that represent sounds. The remaining items
require students to write increasingly difficult (regular and irregular) words from dictation. Colleen scored a
standard score of 137 placing her in the 99th percentile which means that she scored better than 99 out of 100 of
her same aged peers.
Writing Fluency The student writes one sentence for each picture presented in the Response Booklet and
completes as many items as possible within a five-minute time limit. Colleen scored a standard score of 108
placing her in the 70th percentile which means that she scored better than 70 out of 100 of her same aged peers.
ORAL LANGUAGE SUBTESTS:
Listening Comprehension Each item requires the examinee to listen to either a sentence read by the examiner
(for the early items) or a recorded passage played via the iPad. After listening to each sentence or passage, the
student responds orally to literal and/or inferential comprehension questions asked by the examiner. Colleen
scored a standard score of 120 placing her in the 90th percentile which means that she scored better than 90 out
of 100 of her same aged peers.
Oral Expression The student responds orally with complete sentences describing the photographs displayed on
the iPad. As items progress in difficulty, one or two target words are required in the student’s response. The
most difficult items require a response beginning with a phrase or target word(s). Colleen scored a standard
score of 123 placing her in the 94th percentile which means that she scored better than 94 out of 100 of her
same aged peers.
Associational Fluency Four tasks make up this subtest. Children below Grade 1 are given only the first two
tasks. The items assess how many words examinees can name for a particular category in a given amount of
time. The student says as many words as possible in 60 seconds that belong to a given semantic category.

Phonological Processing This subtest is an auditory processing skill that relates to words, but occurs in the
absence of print. It involves detecting and discriminating differences in phonemes or speech sounds under
conditions of a little or no distraction or distortion. The student responds orally to items that require
manipulation of sounds. Tasks include rhyming, matching, blending, segmenting, and deleting sounds. Colleen
scored a standard score of 119 placing her in the 90th percentile which means that she scored better than 90 out
of 100 of her same aged peers.

Object Naming Facility The student names pictured objects as quickly as possible during two short trials.
Colleen scored a standard score of 100 placing her in the 50th percentile which means that she scored better
than 50 out of 100 of her same aged peers.

Letter Naming Facility The student names a combination of upper and lower case letters as quickly as possible
during two short trials. Colleen scored a standard score of 97 placing her in the 42nd percentile which means
that she scored better than 42 out of 100 of her same aged peers.

CORE COMPOSITES
The Academic Skills Battery (ASB) composite consists of the following six subtests: Math Concepts and
Applications, Letter and Word Recognition, Written Expression, Math Computation, Spelling, and Reading
Comprehension. The scores from these subtests provide a measure of overall academic achievement in reading,
math and written language. Colleen achieved a standard score of 114 (Above Average) and it is with 90%
confidence that her true score is between 111 and 117. The percentile rank 82, indicates she scored as well as
or better that 82% of her peers in the norm group. Colleen’s main weakness was in math concepts and
applications.
Reading Composite consists of the following two subtests: Letter and Word Recognition and Reading
Comprehension. The scores from these subtests provide a measure of how the student reads sight words and
unpredictable word patterns and then how well student comprehends literal and inferential information. The
scores from these subtests provide a measure of overall academic achievement in reading. Colleen achieved a
standard score of 114 (Above Average) and it is with 90% confidence that her true score is between 109 and
119. The percentile rank 82, indicates she scored as well as or better that 82% of her peers in the norm group.
Colleen’s weakness here was reading comprehension. She kept saying she was distracted.
Math Composite consists of the following two subtests: Math Concepts and Applications and Math
Computation. The score from these subtests provide a measure regarding the student’s mathematical problem
solving ability and computational skills. Colleen achieved a standard score of 91 (Average range) and it is with
90% confidence that her true score is between 87 and 95. The percentile rank 27, indicates she scored as well
as or better that 27% of her peers in the norm group. Kim’s main weakness was in math concepts and
applications during which she kept saying she was not good at math and had always hated it.
Written Language Composite consists of the following two subtests: Written Expression and Spelling. The
score from these subtests provide a measure regarding the student’s ability to communicate effectively in
writing and to spell words in isolation and in context. Colleen achieved a standard score of 136 (Very High
range) and it is with 90% confidence that her true score is between 129 and 143. The percentile rank 99
indicates she scored as well as or better that 99% of her peers in the norm group. Colleen said she enjoyed these
parts of the test.

SUPPLEMENTAL COMPOSITES
(Reading Related Composites)
Sound-Symbol consists of the following two subtests: Phonological Processing and Nonsense Word Decoding.
The score from these subtests provide a measure regarding the student’s ability to discriminate sounds by
segmentation, sequencing, and decoding words. Colleen achieved a standard score of 123 (High range) and it is
with 95% confidence that her true score is between 118 and 128. The percentile rank 94, indicates she scored as
well as or better that 94% of her peers in the norm group. Colleen’s main weakness was in phonological
processing. Colleen wanted to divide the sounds into syllables rather than into separate letter sounds.
Decoding consists of the following two subtests: Letter and Word Recognition and Nonsense Word Decoding.
The score from these subtests provide a measure of letter-sound relationships, including knowledge of letter
patterns, to correctly pronounce written words. Understanding these relationships gives children the ability to
recognize familiar words quickly and to figure out words they haven't seen before. Colleen achieved a standard
score of 123 (High range) and it is with 95% confidence that her true score is between 119 and 127. The
percentile rank 94, indicates she scored as well as or better that 94% of her peers in the norm group. Colleen’s
main weakness was in Nonsense Word Decoding because she kept giggling at the nonsense words and getting
distracted.
Reading Fluency consists of the following three subtests: Silent Reading Fluency, Word Recognition Fluency
and Decoding Fluency. The score from these subtests provide a measure of the ability to read a text accurately,
quickly, and with expression. Fluency is important because it provides a bridge between word recognition and
comprehension. When fluent readers read silently, they recognize words automatically. Colleen achieved a
standard score of 108 (Average range) and it is with 95% confidence that her true score is between 102 and 114.
The percentile rank 70, indicates she scored as well as or better that 70% of her peers in the norm group.
Colleen’s main weakness was in the word recognition fluency because she was very deliberate and slow in
giving her answers.
Reading Understanding consists of the following two subtests: Reading Comprehension and Reading
Vocabulary. The scores from these subtests provide a measure of the ability to read text, process it and
understand its meaning. Colleen achieved a standard score of 112 (Above Average range) and it is with 95%
confidence that her true score is between 106 and 118. The percentile rank 79, indicates she scored as well as
or better that 79% of her peers in the norm group. Colleen excelled in the vocabulary portion of this composite,
but was only average in her comprehension.

(Oral Composites)
Oral Language Composite consists of the following three subtests: Associational Fluency, Listening
Comprehension, and Oral Expression. The score from these subtests provide a measure of the ability to
communicate with of receptive and expressive language. Colleen achieved a standard score of 92 (Average
range) and it is with 95% confidence that her true score is between 82 and 102. The percentile rank 30,
indicates she scored as well as or better that 30% of her peers in the norm group. Colleen grew flustered in the
timing of the associational fluency portion and kept asking questions which made her score very low.
Oral Fluency Composite consists of the following two subtests: Associational Fluency and Object Naming
Facility. The scores from these subtests provide a measure of how well and easily a student can communicate
their ideas clearly and accurately in speech. Colleen achieved a standard score of 63 (Very Low range) and it is
with 95% confidence that her true score is between 49 and 77. The percentile rank 1, indicates she scored as
well as or better that 1% of her peers in the norm group. Colleen grew flustered in the timing of the
associational fluency portion and kept asking questions which made her score very low.

(Cross Domain Composite)

Comprehension Composite consists of the following two subtests: Reading Composite and Listening
Composite. The scores from these subtests provide a measure of listening comprehension, which is
understanding the meaning of spoken words and reading comprehension, which is understanding the meaning
of written words. Kim achieved a standard score of 100 (Average range) and it is with 90% confidence that her
true score is between 93 and 107. The percentile rank 50, indicates she scored as well as or better that 94% of
her peers in the norm group.
Expression Composite consists of the following two subtests: Written Expression and Oral Expression. The
scores from these subtests provide a measure of a student’s ability to communicate with writing ability using
grammar and syntactic. It also measures a student ability to communicate orally with grammar, syntactic
knowledge, and vocabulary knowledge with expressive language. Colleen achieved a standard score of 131
(very high range) and it is with 95% confidence that her true score is between 122 and 140. The percentile rank
98, indicates she scored as well as or better that 98% of her peers in the norm group. Colleen’s main strength
was in written expression. Colleen was very good at writing complete sentences with proper grammar and
punctuation as well making her thoughts complete and thorough.
Orthographic Processing Composite consists of the following three subtests: Spelling, Letter Naming
Facility, and Word Recognition Fluency. The scores from these subtests provide a measure of a student’s visual
memory, or orthographic processing. Visual memory help a student to retain the way words look in print so they
can read fluently. Visual memory/Orthographic Processing is critical for reading and writing fluency. Colleen
achieved a standard score of 111 (Above Average range) and it is with 95% confidence that her true score is
between 104 and 118. The percentile rank 77, indicates she scored as well as or better that 77% of her peers in
the norm group. Colleens’ main weakness was in word recognition fluency where she took her time to make
sure that she didn’t stumble over any of the words.
Academic Fluency Composite consists of the following three subtests: Writing Fluency, Math Fluency, and
Decoding Fluency. The scores from these subtests provide a measure of a student’s ability to quickly read short
sentences, do simple math calculations, and write simple sentences. The pace or speed of performance
“automaticity” frees up attention for higher order application. Fluency in foundation skills frees attention for
application, creativity, and problem-solving. Colleen achieved a standard score of 112 (Above Average range)
and it is with 95% confidence that her true score is between 105 and 119. The percentile rank 79, indicates she
scored as well as or better that 79% of her peers in the norm group. Colleen’s main weakness was in decoding
fluency because she kept giggling at the made up nonsense words.

Summary
Colleen scored average or above average in most areas of testing. Her main and obvious weaknesses being math
and oral fluency. She tended to grow flustered with timed tests and did not stay focused when she found things
to be silly. She was easily distracted on oral fluency tests, and she gave up easily on the math. She stopped
doing problems once they required more than one step.

Recommendations (according to your findings from the test)

All Ages
Ask the student to think about a recent activity he or she participated in (e.g., playing a sport, taking a test,
cooking a meal). Ask the student to describe the events with attention to sequence of events, audience
awareness, and descriptive detail.
Related to CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.2.4
Display pictures from textbooks, magazines, or newspapers showing characters in various situations. Encourage
the student to ask questions about the characters in the pictures (e.g., Who is in the picture?, What are they
doing?, Where are they going?, When is this happening?, Why are they doing what they are doing?). Then
repeat the questions and ask the student to answer them.
Related to CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.1.2

Provide the student with a picture. Ask the student to describe the picture to someone who has never seen it
before, using as much detail as possible.
Related to CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.2.4

For Older Students

Ask the student to practice speaking with different audiences in mind for a specific purpose (e.g., how would
you make a request, persuade, or explain something to your teacher, your parent, your friend, etc.). Focus on
word choice, tone, and audience awareness.
Related to CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.5.6

ECHO READING. In this strategy to boost student reading fluency, the teacher selects a text at the student's
instructional level. The teacher reads aloud a short section (e.g., one-two sentences at a time) while the student
follows along silently. The student then reads the same short section aloud--and the read-aloud activity
continues, alternating between teacher and student, until the passage has been completed. Whenever the student
commits a reading error or hesitates for 3 seconds or longer, the teacher stops the student, points to and says the
error word, has the student read the word aloud correctly, has the student read the surrounding phrase that
includes the error word, and then continues the reading activity.