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Achievement Testing

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Encyclopedia of Autism Spectrum Disorders

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Definition

Achievement tests are designed to assess an individual’s competencies in relation to scholastic material that she/he has been expected to be exposed to in school, home, and community settings (Stetson et al. 2001). Achievement tests are different from intelligence tests. Achievement tests are designed to measure mastery of a specific subject, or subjects, such as reading ability, number fluency, and scientific knowledge; whereas, intelligence tests are designed to measure both novel problem-solving abilities and stored knowledge (Stedman 2006). Typically, achievement tests are administered in the school setting, as opposed to in mental health clinics (Klin et al. 2005).

Historical Background

Achievement testing has been respected as an accurate tool of academic attainment since 1914 when the Department of Superintendence of the National Education Association officially adopted a favorable view toward educational assessment (Levine 1976), another phrase for achievement...

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References and Reading

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Clinical Psychology, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA, USA

    Melissa Maye

Authors
  1. Melissa Maye
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Correspondence to Melissa Maye .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA

    Fred R. Volkmar

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Maye, M. (2021). Achievement Testing. In: Volkmar, F.R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Autism Spectrum Disorders. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-91280-6_220

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