Best Practice in Assessing School- Age Language and Literacy Amy Costanza-Smith, PhD, CCC-SLP Jenny Larsen, PhD, CCC-SLP Claire Leake, MS, CCC-SLP OSHA, October 10, 2015 Introductions & Disclosures Advance organizer Overview of assessment model Standardized language assessment Language sample elicitation and analysis Assessing literacy BREAK Putting it all together - CASE STUDIES Interpreting results Formulating diagnoses How to present results to family and other professionals Recommendations 1
Overview of Assessment Model PSU Speech and Hearing Clinic Referrals for learning concerns One visit, 2-3 hours Pre-visit information Assessment overview File review Case history Child interview Oral language assessment Standardized/Norm-referenced measures Functional: language sample analysis Literacy assessment Phonological processing Reading - decoding, fluency, comprehension Spelling Written language Dynamic assessment The evaluation File Review Case history Parent interview Medical/developmental history Family history Other diagnoses What s been done before Child interview Child perspective What do they do when they need help 2
Oral Language Assessment Standardized language assessment Language sample Standardized oral language assessment Is a disorder or weakness in oral language contributing to literacy difficulties? Is oral language age-appropriate? Is there a pattern of strengths and weaknesses? Standardized oral language assessment Test selection Want tools that measure several aspects of oral language Especially morphology, syntax & semantics Want tools with strong psychometric properties Spaulding, Plante & Farinella, 2006 Consider several client factors age time Concerns previous assessments 3
Standardized oral language assessment Measures we frequently use in our school-age language & literacy clinic: CELF-5 OWLS-2 CASL TOLD-P4 CELF-5 Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals-5 th Edition (Wiig, Semel & Secord, 2013) Ages 5;0-21;11 Subtests (typically 4 of these comprise a Core Language Score) Word classes Following Directions Formulated Sentences Recalling Sentences Understanding Spoken Paragraphs Word Definitions Sentence Assembly Semantic Relationships Pragmatics Profile Also Reading Comprehension & Structured Writing (ages 9;0-21;11) OWLS-2 Oral and Written Language Scales, 2 nd Edition (Carrow-Woolfolk, 2011) Oral Language (ages 3;0-21;11) Listening Comprehension Oral Expression Written Language (ages 5;0-21:11) Reading Comprehension Written Expression 4
CASL Comprehensive Assessment of Spoken Language (Carrow-Woolfolk, 1999) Ages 3-21 Subtests (3-5 of these make up the Composite score) Basic Concepts Antonyms Synonyms Sentence Completion Idiomatic Language Syntax Construction Paragraph Comprehension Grammatical Morphemes Sentence Comprehension Grammaticality Judgment Nonliteral Language Meaning from Context Inference Ambiguous Sentences Pragmatic Judgment TOLD-P:4 Test of Language Development-Primary: 4 th Edition (Newcomer & Hammill, 2008) Ages 4;0-8;11 Picture Vocabulary Relational Vocabulary Oral Vocabulary Syntactic Understanding Sentence Imitation Morphological Completion Supplementary Word Analysis Word Discrimination Word Articulation Oral Language Assessment Standardized language assessment Language sample analysis 5
Why Language Sample Analysis? Spontaneous language in real-life contexts Tasks are developmentally appropriate Supports standardized/formal testing May reveal weaknesses in complex syntax, literate vocabulary, pragmatics (Nippold, 2014) Appropriate for bilingual or English as a second language learners Helps develop intervention goals and document progress Types of Language Samples Play Conversation Narrative Expository Tools for Language Sample Analysis Voice Recorder Analysis Software (e.g., SALT Software) Story Retell: Books Expository: Planning Sheet Optional: Digital Playback Equipment 6
What can/should we measure? Productivity # words, # c/t units Syntactic complexity Mean Length of Utterance Subordination Index Types of clauses Lexical diversity Number of different words Literate vocabulary Intelligibility Mazes Errors Additional Considerations Conversation Turn-taking skills Topic initiations Contingent remarks Narration Story Structure Organization/Cohesion Use of mental states terms and dialogue Expository Use of planning tools Organization/Cohesion Background knowledge of listener SALT Software Consistent format for elicitation, transcription and analysis Coding rules to facilitate transcription Ability to analyze transcript instantly with more than 50 measures Ability to compare samples to databases of transcripts from typical speakers Wealth of free training available online www.saltsoftware.com 7
Step 1 Select Type of Language Sample to Elicit and Record Play, Story Retell, Expository, Conversation Is it developmentally appropriate? Will it highlight the strengths and difficulties you observe? Will it elicit complex syntax? SALT Databases-English Database Age Range Grade in School Play 2;8-5;8 P, K Conversation 2;9-13;3 P, K, 1, 2, 3, 5, 7 Narrative NSS 5;2-13;3 K, 1, 2, 3, 5, 7 Narrative Story Retell FWAY: 4;4-7;5 PGHW: 7;0-8;11 APNF: 7;11-9;11 DDS: 9;3-12;8 FWAY: P, K, 1 PGHW: 2 APNF: 3 DDS: 4 Expository 10;7-15;9 5, 6, 7, 9 SALT Databases-Bilingual Spanish/English Database Age Range Grade in School Bilingual Spanish/English Story Retell FWAY: 5;0-9;9 FGTD: 5;5-8;11 FOHO: 6;0-7;9 FWAY: K, 1, 2, 3 FGTD: K, 2 FOHO: 1 Bilingual Spanish/English Unique Story 5;0-9;7 K, 1, 2, 3 8
Step 2 Transcribe the Language Sample SALT developed a list of transcription conventions: Interrupted or abandoned statements Intelligibility Bound morphemes Mazes (filled pauses, repetitions, revisions) Omissions and Errors Overlapping speech Whatever you want! You can make up your own codes. Step 3 Analyze the Transcript Compare to age-matched peers or prior sample Generate a Standard Measures Report Transcript Length Syntax/Morphology Semantics Discourse Intelligibility Mazes and Abandoned Utterances Verbal Facility and Rate Omissions and Error Codes Step 4 Interpret the Results Use databases as well as your knowledge of language development and developmental norms 9
Assessment overview File review Case history Child interview Oral language assessment Standardized/Norm-referenced measures Functional: language sample analysis Literacy assessment Dynamic assessment Literacy Assessment Phonological processing Word recognition Spelling Reading fluency Reading comprehension Written language Phonological Processing Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing (CTOPP-2) Diagnostic procedure Prognostic indicators Previously completed measures (ex. DIBELS) Functional measures of phonemic awareness 10
Phoneme Segmentation http://www.readingrockets.org/atoz/1138/vid eo Phonological Processing (Bishop & Snowling, 2004) Phonological awareness Reflect on and manipulate speech sounds Phonological memory Short term representation of speech sounds Implicated in severe/persistent RD, LI Phonological retrieval Locate and match string of sounds to meaning Complex phonological production PP Profiles Double deficit generally = increased severity (Wolf & Bowers, 1999) Phonological awareness & retrieval Rapid naming may also tap attention, perception, memory, lexicon, articulation Suggestive of more broad pattern of deficit 11
Word Recognition Test of Word Reading Efficiency Fluency vs. accuracy Word Attack on Woodcock-Johnson Sight word inventory (Dolch, etc.) Functional assessments Curriculum-based Behaviors around word attack Spelling Developmental inventory is critical SPELL (Masterson et al., 2006) or Words Their Way (Bear et al., 2012), others? Levels/aspects of spelling knowledge Stage model (Chall, 1983, etc.) Multilinguistic model (Masterson & Apel, 2014) http://mypearsontraining.com/pdfs/tg_wtw _assessment.pdf?checked=1443723559 12
Multilinguistic Model (Masterson & Apel, 2014) Spelling is variably influenced by: Phonological awareness Orthographic knowledge Semantic awareness Morphological awareness Mental orthographic images Reading Fluency Rate, accuracy, prosody QRI-5 GORT-4? Look to standards Reading Comprehension OWLS-2 TILLS (We have not used) QRI Others? CELF-5 subtest 13
What do we want to find out about reading comprehension? Dependent on grade Look to standards Genre Discipline CCSS ELA 5th Grade Craft and Structure 5.RI.4 Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 5 topic or subject area. 5.RI.5 Compare and contrast the overall structure (e.g., chronology, comparison, cause/effect, problem/solution) of events, ideas, concepts, or information in two or more texts. 5.RI.6 Analyze multiple accounts of the same event or topic, noting important similarities and differences in the point of view they represent. Integration of Knowledge and Ideas 5.RI.7 Draw on information from multiple print or digital sources, demonstrating the ability to locate an answer to a question quickly or to solve a problem efficiently. 5.RI.8 Explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support particular points in a text, identifying which reasons and evidence support which point(s). 5.RI.9 Integrate information from several texts on the same topic in order to write or speak about the subject knowledgeably. Reading Comprehension Additional considerations Sentence-level comprehension Metacognitive skills Self-monitoring Purpose for reading 14
Written Language Assessments Process and product components Standardized OWLS, TOWL, others? Writing samples-analyze product Price & Jackson, 2015 Observing process Planning, organizing, etc. Written Language Oral language assessment (including language sampling) Observe vocabulary use and understanding Syntax use and understanding Foundational skills can be leveraged during intervention for written language Writing Samples What to analyze (Price & Jackson, 2015) Vocabulary: specific types of words; NDW; look to expectations Sentence measures: C-unit length; types of sentences; clausal density; errors Discourse measures: length/productivity, genrespecific organization and structure 15
What do we look for in process (Graham & Perrin, 2007)? Task initiation Planning/organizing Edit Revisions Dynamic Assessment Based on what we find in the rest of our assessment. Case Studies 16