Inside the WJ V Nonverbal: A Technical Overview

Inside the WJ V Nonverbal: A Technical Overview

Language barriers can hide what a student actually knows and can do. The WJ V Nonverbal (WJ V NV) reduces the linguistic demands of cognitive assessment through wordless video directions and standardized gestures, while keeping the original items, scoring, and constructs.

This session gives practitioners a technical overview of the WJ V NV and its Nonverbal Cognitive Ability Index (NVCAI). We’ll review how it was developed, the evidence behind it (verbal vs. nonverbal comparability for general education students, English learners, and students with language impairments, plus validity and reliability), and practical guidance on when to use it and how to interpret results within a comprehensive evaluation.

Continuing Education Credit:
Participants who attend majority of the live session will be eligible to receive CEUs. Additional details regarding CE credit requirements and documentation will be provided during the webinar

Learning Objectives: 

1. Describe how the WJ V NV reduces linguistic demands and explain the difference between language-minimized and truly nonverbal assessment.
2. Summarize the research evidence supporting NVCAI interpretation, including verbal/nonverbal comparability, validity, and reliability.
3. Apply interpretive guidance to decide when the NVCAI is appropriate, why verbal and nonverbal subtests should not be combined in a composite, and how to account for its limitations.

About the Speaker: 

Katherine (Katy) Genseke, Psy.D. is the Head of Clinical Product at Riverside Insights. She is the product owner for all clinical products, including the Woodcock Johnson Suite of Assessments and the Battelle product line. Dr. Genseke received her master’s and doctorate degrees in Clinical Psychology from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology. She is a clinical psychologist, who spent 10 years working in private practice, schools, and hospitals conducting psychological and psychoeducational assessments, before transitioning into test publishing. Throughout her current career, Dr. Genseke has been involved in the development and standardization of multiple psychological assessments.