by Janet Switzer, Ph.D. and Christian P. Gruber, Ph.D.
The Norris Educational Achievement Test (NEAT) gives school and clinical psychologists a standard assessment of basic educational abilities--in just 30 minutes. It is the only major diagnostic achievement battery that offers all of the following features:
- Alternate forms
- Optional measures of written language as well as oral reading and comprehension
- Separate grade and age norms
- Tables identifying significant discrepancies between IQ and achievement
- A large standardization sample that is nationally representative in terms of parental education and ethnic composition
Efficient and easy to use, this test is an excellent addition to any psychodiagnostic evaluation.
Individually administered, NEAT can be used with children and adolescents from 4 years of age to 17 years, 11 months. (The Technical Manual provides instructions for using the test with adults as well.) Readiness Tests are used to assess children between 4 and 6 years of age, and Achievement Tests are used to evaluate examinees aged 6 and older:
Readiness Tests
Fine Motor Coordination
Math Concepts
Letters
Achievement Tests
Word Recognition
Spelling
Arithmetic
Supplemental Achievement Tests
Oral Reading and Comprehension
Written Language
The inclusion of Written Language and Oral Reading and Comprehension Tests gives users the option of assessing these skills without introducing additional instruments. Both of these supplemental tests are quick, efficient, and easy to score. The Written Language Test provides prototypical essays for every age and grade level. These serve as clear-cut, objective scoring guides.
NEAT is available in two parallel forms (A and B), each separately normed and validated. This makes the test especially useful for IEP reviews, progress assessments, and other evaluations that involve retesting. The same test form is used from first grade through high school, making it easy to compare successive testings of a particular student over the course of his or her school career.
Both the Readiness and Achievement Tests are included in one convenient Test Booklet. The student responds directly in the Test Booklet. Because sections of the Booklet can be removed, the examiner can score one test while the student works on another--a feature that saves considerable time.
NEAT provides scores for each test, plus an Overall Readiness or Achievement Score, which is useful in making placement decisions. These are reported as standard scores, percentiles, and stanines.
Unlike other tests of its kind, NEAT makes it easy for the user to document discrepancies between IQ and achievement. The Technical Manual provides tables identifying critical differences between NEAT scores and WISC-III, WISC-R, WPPSI, and Stanford-Binet scores. This information is highly useful in qualifying students for special education services.
Standardized on a nationally representative sample of approximately 3,000 students, NEAT provides both grade and age norms. The Technical Manual gives complete information on the standardization sample, describing parental education, ethnic composition, geographic regions, gender, and urban/rural distribution. The test has undergone extensive analyses to ensure that it is unbiased when used with Blacks, Whites, and Hispanics. NEAT is valid for use in virtually any educational or clinical setting, with both minority and nonminority children.
Component
KIT: Includes 10 Test Booklets (5 Form A; 5 Form B); 1 Administration and Scoring Manual; 1 Technical Manual