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Details
Purpose
Examines the underlying processes that support written language skills
Authors
Steven G. Feifer, DEd
Administration Formats
Additional Details
Save 10% by using the promo code "REFRESH10" at checkout
Assess the Underlying Processes that Support Written Language Skills
The FAW is a diagnostic achievement test designed to examine the underlying cognitive, motoric, and linguistic processes that support proficient written language skills. It joins the FAR and the FAM as the third and final member of the Feifer Family of diagnostic achievement test batteries, all of which examine subtypes of learning disabilities using a brain–behavior perspective.
Students spend nearly 60% of their school day engaged in the process of written expression. Deficits in the writing process can wreak havoc on students’ education. The FAW examines the underlying processes that support proficient written language skills. In addition to identifying the possibility of dysgraphia, the FAW is able to determine the specific subtype of dysgraphia (graphomotor, executive, and dyslexic).
Features and benefits
- Designed to measure three subtypes of written language disorders, or dysgraphia. Results help specify, from a neuropsychological perspective, exactly why a student struggles with written language so you can develop appropriate, customized interventions.
- Provides qualitative information about a student’s writing skills, including a skills analysis available within most subtests that allows you to dig deeper into a student’s abilities.
- Examinees in prekindergarten take five subtests, examinees in kindergarten to Grade 1 take seven subtests, and examinees in Grade 2 to college take 10 subtests.
- Can be used for an array of purposes including general screening of dysgraphia, directing diagnosis of a learning disability as part of a comprehensive psychological evaluation, progress monitoring of discrete skills for school systems operating in an RTI paradigm, and designing a deficit- or skill-specific intervention.
- A detailed Administration and Scoring Guide, available for purchase, provides instructions that simplify administration and make scoring straightforward and objective. Meant to be a go-to resource during administration, the guide provides targeted advice and helpful tips.
- PAR's In-Person e-Stimulus Books and Kits are convenient, more hygienic alternatives to paper administration that allow you to administer the FAW face-to-face via tablet. Be sure to download our new white paper prior to administering.
- Screening forms, ideal for progress monitoring, are also available.
- The FAW Interpretive Report provides scores for all FAW subtests and includes detailed interpretations of index, discrepancy, and subtest scores. It offers targeted intervention recommendations tailored to each individual’s age and FAW scores, aiding clinicians in creating personalized and targeted interventions.
- If you are working within an RTI model or other treatment scenarios in which you wish to track progress over time, the Reliable Change Report can prove useful. After you administer the FAW more than one time to the same examinee (we recommend at least 30 days apart), you can track changes in performance for each subtest and index score. To generate a Reliable Change Report digitally, first enter your item responses into PARiConnect and then run an Interpretive or a Score Report. The second step is to generate a no-cost "Reliable Change" report. If you are hand scoring, page 4 of the Examiner Record Form provides space to calculate reliable change by hand.
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FAQs
What is the technical information of the FAW?
Test structure
- Three index scores are generated: the Graphomotor Index, the Dyslexic Index, and the Executive Index. The FAW Total Index represents overall test performance. Each index can be compared to each other, as well as to the total index score, to determine relative strengths and weaknesses in writing.
- An optional Compositional Writing Index is available when Copy Editing and Story Mapping subtests are administered. These subtests are optional and are not included in the FAW Total Index.
- Examinees in prekindergarten take five subtests, examinees in kindergarten to Grade 1 take seven subtests, and examinees in Grade 2 to college take 10 subtests.
- Reliable change and discrepancy scores can be calculated.
FAW subtests
Technical information
- Subtest and index scores are scaled to the familiar IQ metric (M = 100; SD = 15).
- Standardized on a sample of 1,048 participants in prekindergarten to college, drawn from 30 states and based on the 2017 U.S. Census statistics.
- Includes intellectual developmental disorder, ADHD, fine motor deficits, and written language learning disability clinical samples.
- Offers grade-based norms; age and grade equivalents for subtest scores; and confidence intervals, percentile ranks, z scores, and normal curve equivalents (NCEs) for index scores.
Video - What is the FAW?
The Feifer Assessment of Writing (FAW) does more for your students by discovering the "why" behind their struggle with writing. FAW author Dr. Steven Feifer explains what these struggles could be for your students.
Video - What does the FAW offer that other writing tests do not?
Discover why your student is struggling with writing with the Feifer Assessment of Writing (FAW): a diagnostic achievement test. Designed to determine the underlying cause of their writing struggle, the FAW simplifies the skill of writing into three subtypes: graphomotor, executive, and dyslexia. Dr. Feifer, the author of the FAW, explains what these subtypes mean, and why the FAW is the best assessment for you and your students.
Video - Are writing and reading issues related? Use the FAR and the FAW together.
According to the Interactive Dynamic Literacy (IDL) Model, yes they are. While there are unique processes and skills in reading and writing, largely these skills have shared processes. According to the IDL a student with dyslexia can also have written composition difficulties. Also, executive functions such as working memory and attention can play a part in both reading and writing.
Listen as Dr. Steven Feifer discusses why the FAR and FAW work perfectly together when you have a referral for a language-based learning disability. They are both based on neuropsychological theory, seek to address processing issues and can be used to help diagnose dyslexia and executive functioning issues. Find out where weaknesses are in writing and reading and then review the prescriptive interventions recommended for the best path forward. He explains how the FAR looks at four subtypes of reading disorders while the FAW looks at three subtypes of written language disorders.
Video - What are the three subtypes of dysgraphia?
Why is your student struggling with writing? Find out with the Feifer Assessment of Writing (FAW). The FAW assesses for the three subtypes of dysgraphia: graphomotor, executive, and dyslexic. Learn more about these subtypes from test author Dr. Steven Feifer, and discover how the FAW can get to the root of the struggle and be used in conjunction with other assessments.
Video - What are the advantages of administering the FAW, FAR, and FAM together?
When the FAW, FAR, and FAM are used together, you get valuable information in less time that allows you to more holistically assess your students for reading, writing, and math disorders. Based on a neuropsychological theory of reading, writing, and math, the Feifer family of products reveals the root of your student's struggles and generates interpretive reports to aid in your intervention decision making. Hear more from test author Dr. Steve Feifer in this video.
Video - Why should you integrate the FAR, FAW and FAM into your practice?
Teachers, parents, and students want more than what competing tests of reading, writing, and math offer. The Feifer family of products is designed to work together to get to the heart of the struggle and answer why a student is struggling with learning. Learn about the advantages of integrating the FAR, FAM, and FAW into your practice from test author Dr. Feifer in this video.
What are your state's dyslexia requirements?
Explore dyslexia legislation and related initiatives in the U.S. Administer the FAR and the FAW to assess why your student has a learning issue and pinpoint the type of dyslexia.
Video - A case study of Mary who was administered the FACT, FAR, and the FAW to help diagnose dyslexia and anxiety
When a student is struggling with a specific subject in school, understanding “why” they are struggling can make all the difference for their learning and academic success. In this video, Dr. Steven Feifer—author of the FAR, FAW, FAM, and the FACT—digs into a case study about a 4th grader named Mary. He explains that by administering the Feifer Assessment of Childhood Trauma (FACT) alongside the Feifer Assessment of Reading (FAR) and Feifer Assessment of Writing (FAW), he was able to gain a broader view of Mary’s issues on both an academic and emotional level. While the results of the FAR and FAW helped him diagnose Mary with dyslexia, the FACT provided additional insights into Mary’s comfort level in school and the causes of her anxiety. The combination of all three tests in Dr. Feifer's psychoeducational evaluation helped him develop an IEP to manage Mary's dyslexia on an academic level and accommodations that helped her feel less anxious in the classroom.
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