Pion energy reconstruction is studied using the data collected during the 2004 ATLAS combined test beam. The strategy to extract corrections for the non-compensating nature of the ATLAS calorimeters for dead material losses and for leakage effects is discussed and assessed. The default ATLAS strategy based on a weighting technique of the energy deposits in calorimeter cells is presented and compared to a novel technique exploiting correlations among energy deposited in calorimeter layers.