Richard W. Woodcock, 1928-2024
Remembering the author of tests frequently used with children with disabilities
Richard Wesley Woodcock, who developed some of the most widely employed psychological assessments used in the US (and internationally), was born on 29 January 1928 in Portland, Oregon. He passed away 2 January 2024 in San Diego, California. His work had substantial influence on the recent and contemporary practice of special education, so it is good to remember him for his birthday.
Professor Woodcock’s name is, obviously, associated with the tests for which is widely known:
Woodcock–Johnson Tests of Cognitive Abilities. The W-J was originally published in 1977 (Woodcock, 1977) and revised repeatedly over the years (e.g., Woodcock, 1989). It is based on a theory that describes multiple aspects of intelligence (e.g., knowledge, reasoning, memory, etc.). After Woodcock first published it, the cognitive battery rapidly replaced older tests such as the Stanford-Binet and the Weschler, in part because of the sophistication of its representation of different aspects of intelligence.
Woodcock Reading Mastery Tests. The reading assessments were a breakthrough in many ways. Although most reading assessments of the time were predicated on a view of reading competence being composed of knowing “sight words” and answering low-inference questions about content, the WRMT (Woodcock, 1973) assessed performance in components of decoding and fluency.
Other tests: Professor Woodcock contributed to other assessments with which readers may be familiar, including the Goldman-Fristoe-Woodcock Test of Auditory Discrimination. While he was at the American Guidance Service, his work influenced familiar assessments such as the Key-Math. There are a host of others such as Scales of Independent Behavior, Dean-Woodcock Sensory Motor Battery, and the Woodcock-Camarata Articulation Battery.
Richard Woodcock studied at the University of Oregon. He received a bachelor’s degree in psychology, a master’s degree in special education, and a doctoral degree in education and Statistics from U. O. He was a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, a diplomate of the American Board of Professional Psychology, and a fellow of the American Academy of School Psychology.
Over the course of his career, Professor Woodcock was associated with multiple different institutions of higher education. He taught and conducted research at Western Oregon University, University of Northern Colorado, Peabody College of Vanderbilt University, University of Arizona, University of Virginia, University of Southern California, Texas Woman’s University, and others! Two universities named research centers after Professor Woodcock: Texas Woman’s University established the Woodcock Institute for Advancement of Neurocognitive Research and Applied Practice promotes research about cognition and effective assessment practices. Western Oregon University named its school of education the Richard Woodcock Education Center.
Professor Woodcock was not only an expert about assessment. He was a scholar. He is credited with promoting the Rasch Model of responses for items in assessment; the Rasch Model is a sophisticated approach that is now very influential in assessment practices and has conceptual foundations that I admire (e.g., McArdle & Woodcock, 1997). He also published studies describing differences in the performance of learners in cognitive areas (e.g., Camarata & Woodcock, 2006). As described in an earlier post here on SET, Professor Woodcock published an insightful article contrasting views of reading instruction (see “How many ways can we teach reading?”).
In 2015, Professor Woodcock sat for an interview with Daniel C. Miller of Texas Woman’s University. Readers might want to watch this fascinating YouTube account of his history. (And fact-check my notes!)
References
Camarata, S., & Woodcock, R. (2006). Sex differences in processing speed: Developmental effects in males and females. Intelligence, 34(3), 231-252. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intell.2005.12.001
McArdle, J. J., & Woodcock, R. W. (1997). Expanding test–retest designs to include developmental time-lag components. Psychological Methods, 2(4), 403.
Woodcock, R. W. (1973). Woodcock Reading Master tests. American Guidance Service.
Woodcock, R. W. (1977). Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-educational Battery. Technical Report.
Woodcock, R. W. (1989). Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-educational Battery-Revised. Developmental Learning Materials.
Woodcock, R. W., McGrew, K. S., & Mather, N.1 (2001). Woodcock-Johnson III: Tests of Achievement. Riverside.
Footnote
Readers can say “hi” to this co-author, as she’s a subscriber to SET!
I always liked the Woodcock Johnson. I've discovered that many schools no longer provide standard scores when writing up Ed/Psych evaluations. I think that is unfortunate. I found standardized tests to be helpful.