By Ann Nobis, SLP

March/April 2006
Volume 24, Number 2

    Don’t you love this time of year when you sit around a big table and “the professionals” talk about your child and what they can do and what they cannot do?  Then come the “numbers”!  The final scores and age equivalents should never be used in isolation. The test results do provide some information about a specific skill that may be lacking and may need to be focused on, as well as the areas that are the strengths.  The standardized tests should always be used in conjunction with observation, day to day performance, and other more informal measures such as a language sample.  Following are some of the commonly used tests – what is covered and what is expected from the child. 

PPVT (Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test):  The child points to one of four pictures, i.e. show me “exhausted”.  This tests a child’s understanding (receptive vocabulary). 

EVT (Expressive Vocabulary Test):  The child labels or provides a synonym given a specific picture, i.e. What are these?  “Animals”. This tests a child’s ability to use vocabulary words (expressive vocabulary). 

CELF (Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals): An assessment for preschool and primary grades. It assesses receptive and expressive language; assesses language ability in the areas of language form and content; measures understanding, grammar, morphology and auditory memory. The child must point to one of several pictures, i.e. “on the chair”, “he is swinging and she is climbing”; and re-state given sentences of varying length. 

Bracken Test of Basic Concepts:  The child must point to one of four pictures given a basic concept.  Approximately 300 concepts are tested which are fundamental concepts for academic success. i.e. “show me full, almost, thin”. 

PLAI (Pre-School Language Assessment Inventory): This is for pre-schoolers and kindergarteners. This test measures the skills of following direction, reflecting on information and solving simple problems.  

LPT (The Language Processing Test):  This tests one’s ability to process and organize language from the very simple to the very complex.  Tasks include: “tell me the name of this picture, tell me a word that goes with shoe, tell me the similarities and differences of a clock and a watch”.    

   This list only touches the surface of what is available for a speech language pathologist to use with your child.  If you would like information about a specific test, please contact me.