KTEA-3 Explained: 19 Subtests, Composites, Scoring, the Two Descriptive Category Systems (PDF)

Article 390 · USA

The KTEA-3 is one of the three achievement batteries a US school may give in an evaluation, and the one whose report can confuse a parent most, because Pearson's own reports use two different descriptive category systems and the words "Below Average" mean a different score in each. This page sets both out, from Pearson's product page, parent report and two sample score reports.

Download the KTEA-3 sheet (PDF) (the subtests by domain with what each asks, the composites, the two category systems side by side and a report-reading planner; two pages, free).

What it is

	KTEA-3
Authors, publisher, year	Alan S. Kaufman and Nadeen L. Kaufman; Pearson, 2014 (Brief Form 2015)
Ages	4:0 to 25:11; grades pre-K to 12
Forms	Two parallel forms, A and B
Time	15 to 85 minutes for the Academic Skills Battery composite, by grade; more with supplemental subtests
Given by	Qualification level B
Scores	Age- and grade-based standard scores (mean 100, SD 15), percentile ranks, NCEs, stanines, age and grade equivalents, growth scale values; error analysis
Linked to	The KABC-II NU (ability) for ability-achievement comparison; also used with the WISC-V

The 19 subtests

What each asks, in Pearson's own parent-report descriptions, condensed:

Domain	Subtests
Reading	Letter & Word Recognition; Nonsense Word Decoding; Reading Comprehension; Reading Vocabulary
Reading fluency	Word Recognition Fluency; Decoding Fluency; Silent Reading Fluency
Mathematics	Math Concepts & Applications; Math Computation; Math Fluency
Writing	Written Expression; Spelling; Writing Fluency
Oral language	Listening Comprehension; Oral Expression; Associational Fluency
Language processing	Phonological Processing; Object Naming Facility; Letter Naming Facility

Letter & Word Recognition is reading words from a list; Nonsense Word Decoding is reading made-up words (phonics); Reading Comprehension runs from symbols and words to passages with questions; Reading Vocabulary is choosing a word with the same meaning; the three fluency subtests are timed reading of words, of made-up words, and silent reading of simple yes/no questions for two minutes. Math Concepts & Applications is real-life problems (number concepts, time, money, measurement); Math Computation is written calculation; Math Fluency is timed facts. Written Expression is completing a picture story in writing, with an essay from grade 1; Spelling is dictated; Writing Fluency is timed sentence writing to pictures. Listening Comprehension and Oral Expression are the receptive and expressive halves of oral language; Associational Fluency is naming as many items in a category as possible in 60 seconds. Phonological Processing manipulates sounds; Object Naming Facility and Letter Naming Facility are rapid naming, the speed skills that predict reading.

The composites

Group	Composites
Core	Reading; Math; Written Language; Oral Language; the Academic Skills Battery (ASB) across reading, maths and writing
Reading-related	Sound-Symbol; Decoding; Reading Fluency; Reading Understanding; Orthographic Processing
Oral and fluency	Oral Fluency; Comprehension; Expression; Academic Fluency
Dyslexia Index	From three subtests of either form, ages 5 to 25

The scores and the two category systems

Every subtest and composite is a standard score with a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15, with a confidence interval (90 percent on the sample reports), a percentile rank, and a descriptive category. Pearson's KTEA-3 reports come with a choice of category system, and the two sample reports Pearson publishes use one each:

Standard score	10-point system (on Pearson's US sample report)	15-point system (on Pearson's other sample report)
146 and above	Very High	Very High
131 to 145	Very High	High
120 to 130	Very High (130) / High (120 to 129)	Above Average
116 to 119	Above Average	Above Average
110 to 115	Above Average	Average
90 to 109	Average	Average (85 to 115)
85 to 89	Below Average	Average
80 to 84	Below Average	Below Average
70 to 79	Low	Below Average
55 to 69	Very Low	Low
54 and below	Very Low	Very Low

The evidence for each is in the reports themselves: on the US sample, 110 is Above Average, 108 and 90 are Average, 88, 84 and 80 are Below Average and 79 and 75 are Low; on the other, 143 and 136 are High, 152 and 155 are Very High and 52 is Very Low. So a Spelling score of 86 is "Below Average" on one report and "Average" on the other, with the same meaning (the 18th percentile). Read the number and the percentile, and check which system the report's legend shows before comparing it with a WIAT-4 or Woodcock-Johnson report, which use their own labels.

Growth scale values (GSV) are the number to track across re-tests: an equal-interval scale of the skill itself, which rises as the child learns even when the standard score (the rank among age-mates) stays the same. Age and grade equivalents say at what age or grade the child's raw score is the median, and should not be used to place a child.

The error analysis

For most subtests the examiner marks the type of each error, and the Q-global report lists skill categories for the child as a strength, average or weakness compared with others in the grade: in reading, the phonics patterns misread (vowel teams, silent-e, consonant blends); in maths, the operations and concepts missed; in spelling and writing, the patterns and rules. It is the page that turns a score into a lesson plan, and the one to ask for if the report you were given stops at the composites.

The Brief Form and the Dyslexia Index

The KTEA-3 Brief Form (2015) is three subtests, Letter & Word Recognition, Math Computation and Spelling, giving a Brief Achievement composite (BA-3) whose standard scores can be used interchangeably with the Comprehensive Form's, with three more subtests available for progress monitoring. The Dyslexia Index is a screening score from three subtests of either form of the Comprehensive, for ages 5 to 25, meant for screening and inclusion in a battery rather than diagnosis.

The other two achievement batteries in the same role are Pearson's WIAT-4 and Riverside's Woodcock-Johnson; the ability test the KTEA-3 was built alongside is the KABC-II.

Download the KTEA-3 sheet (PDF) (the subtests, the composites, the two category systems and the planner; two pages, free).

Where to get help

A 1-on-1 online class with a tutor who holds a master's degree and teaches the US curriculum from Grade 1 number work to AP Calculus, chemistry and physics, at 7 am before school, after 4 pm and on weekend mornings, US time, for US$10 to $13 an hour: the evaluation report read together in the free 30-minute first class, the subtest or cluster the score is really pointing at found, and the term spent on exactly that skill, with the method written out the way the school marks it. How online tutoring from India to the USA works, or the 1-on-1 online tutoring page.

Sources: Pearson, Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement, Third Edition, product page (2014; ages 4:0 to 25:11 and pre-K to 12; completion 15 to 85 minutes for the ASB composite; score types; the new subtests; the Dyslexia Index; error analysis and interventions in the report); Pearson, KTEA-3 Parent Report sample (2014): the subtest descriptions and the composite list; Pearson, KTEA-3 sample score reports (the US sample and the sample published by Pearson Clinical's UK/Australian sites): the descriptive categories at each score quoted; Pearson, KTEA-3 Brief Form product page (2015; BA-3; interchangeable standard scores) and KTEA-3 Dyslexia Index page (ages 5 to 25; three subtests of either form). Fetched 9 November 2026.

Questions parents ask

1What is the KTEA-3 test?

The Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement, Third Edition (Alan and Nadeen Kaufman; Pearson, 2014): an individually administered achievement test of reading, mathematics, written language and oral language for ages 4 years 0 months to 25 years 11 months, grades pre-K to 12, with two parallel forms (A and B) for re-testing. Schools use it, like the WIAT-4 and the Woodcock-Johnson, for learning-disability evaluations and progress monitoring; it is linked to the KABC-II NU for ability-achievement comparison.

2How many subtests does the KTEA-3 have?

Nineteen in the Comprehensive Form, grouped as reading (4), reading fluency (3), mathematics (3), writing (3), oral language (3) and language processing (3). The examiner gives a selection; Pearson lists 15 to 85 minutes for the Academic Skills Battery composite depending on grade. The Brief Form (2015) has three core subtests giving a Brief Achievement composite.

3What do KTEA-3 scores mean?

Standard scores with a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15, by age or by grade, with percentile ranks, normal curve equivalents, stanines, age and grade equivalents and growth scale values. Pearson's reports attach a descriptive category, and two systems are in use: one in 10-point bands (Average 90 to 109, Above Average 110 to 119, Below Average 80 to 89, Low 70 to 79) and one in 15-point bands (Average 85 to 115, High 131 to 145, Very High 146 and above, Very Low 54 and below). The report states which; this page shows both.

4What is the KTEA-3 error analysis?

For most subtests the examiner records not just right and wrong but the kind of error (which phonics patterns were misread, which arithmetic operations failed, which grammar rules were missed), and the report lists the skill categories as strengths or weaknesses against children of the same grade. It is the most useful page for a teacher or tutor, because it names the skills to teach.

5KTEA-3 or WIAT-4?

Both are Pearson achievement batteries with the same kind of standard scores, both run from age 4 and both have a Dyslexia Index. The WIAT-4 (2020) is newer and pairs naturally with the WISC-V; the KTEA-3 (2014) pairs with the KABC-II NU, has two parallel forms, runs to age 25 rather than 50, and has the error analysis built into its reporting. Schools choose by what their psychologists are trained on; the scores are interchangeable in meaning.

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Teaching maths, science and English to children online since 2018. 500+ students, 20+ tutors, families in nine countries.

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