exam 2 language assessments

Question 1

What is the purpose of a screening in language assessment?

Answer 1

language assessment is to quickly check whether a person (often a child) may have difficulties with communication skills, such as understanding or using language. Screenings are brief and are not meant to diagnose problems.

Question 2

what are the possible results of a screening

Answer 2

pass or refer

Question 3

pass

Answer 3

the individual showed no signs of language difficulties during the screening. Their communication skills appear to be developing within the expected range for their age

Question 4

refer

Answer 4

the screening identified possible concerns with the person’s language skills. These concerns might include trouble understanding, speaking, or using language appropriately. A “refer” result means the person should have a full, comprehensive evaluation to take a closer look at their language abilities and determine if any intervention or support is needed

Question 5

why do we collect case history

Answer 5

We collect a case history in a language assessment to gather important background information about the person being evaluated. This helps us understand the whole picture of their development and any factors that might be affecting their communication skills.

Question 6

what do you need for case history

Answer 6

developmental milestones, medical history, family history, cultural/language disorder, and caregiver concerns

Question 7

developmental milestones

Answer 7

when they started talking

Question 8

medical history

Answer 8

hearing issues

Question 9

family history

Answer 9

language difficulties

Question 10

language background

Answer 10

which language is spoken at home

Question 11

caregiver concern

Answer 11

communication or behavior

Question 12

what is a family interview used for

Answer 12

to learn directly from the family about their everyday experiences, concerns, and goals for the individual being assessed. It helps the clinician understand what communication looks like at home, school, or in the community, and what areas are most important to the family.

Question 13

why do we give norm referenced test

Answer 13

are used to evaluate a child’s language skills by comparing them to the performance of other children in the same age group. These tests are designed to give a snapshot of where a child stands in relation to their peers in areas like vocabulary, grammar, and comprehension.

Question 14

what is a problem with norm referenced

Answer 14

issue is cultural and linguistic bias. Norm-referenced tests are usually created based on a specific group of children, often from similar cultural, social, or language backgrounds. This means that children from diverse backgrounds may be unfairly judged or appear to have language delays just because the test doesn’t account for their cultural norms, dialects, or home languages.

Question 15

what are informal/criterion measures

Answer 15

are assessment tools that are not standardized, meaning they don’t compare a child’s language skills to a large group of same-age peers. Instead, these measures look at whether a child can meet specific language goals or perform certain communication task

Question 16

what are the two types of dynamic assesment

Answer 16

Test-Teach-Retest and Graduated Prompting.

Question 17

test-teach-retest

Answer 17

he child is first given a brief test to see how they perform on a task (pre-test). Then, the clinician provides teaching, support, or strategies to help the child improve (teaching phase). After the teaching, the child is tested again on the same or similar task (post-test)

Question 18

graduated prompting

Answer 18

the clinician gives the child increasing levels of support or prompts to help them complete a task. For example, the clinician might start with no help, then give a small hint, and then give more direct support if needed. The goal is to see how much help the child needs to be successful.

Question 19

why use dynamic assessment

Answer 19

to understand how a child learns and how well they respond to support, rather than just measuring what they already know at one point in time. This type of assessment is especially helpful when trying to tell the difference between a true language disorder and a language difference due to factors like bilingualism, cultural background, or limited exposure to a language.

Question 20

language disorder

Answer 20

when a person has trouble understanding or using language because of difficulties with how their brain processes language.

Question 21

language diffrence

Answer 21

happens when someone’s language patterns are influenced by their cultural or linguistic background. This is not a disorder. For example, a child who is learning English as a second language may make grammar mistakes in English, but those mistakes are often due to the influence of their first language

Question 22

what is mediated learning experience

Answer 22

where the examiner actively teaches the child strategies to help them learn or complete a task during the assessment itself. Instead of just observing what the child can or can’t do, the examiner steps in to provide support,

Question 23

What is a raw score?

Answer 23

It is the total number of correct responses a person gives. For example, if a test has 50 questions and a child answers 35 of them correctly, their raw score is 35.

Question 25

What is a standard score?

Answer 25

a type of score that helps us understand how a child’s test performance compares to other children of the same age who took the same test. Standard scores are calculated by converting the child’s raw score into a score that fits onto a common scale, usually with a mean (average) of 100 and a standard deviation (SD) of 15.

Question 26

what does a standard score of 100 mean

Answer 26

it means the average score compared to other children around the same age

Question 27

What is the Standard Error of Measurement (SEM)

Answer 27

how much a test score might change or vary because no test is perfect. Every time a child takes a test, small things—like distractions, guessing, or even how the child is feeling that day—can affect their score. The SEM shows the possible range of scores the child could get if they took the same test again under the same conditions.

Question 28

What is a confidence band

Answer 28

range of scores around a child's observed score that reflects where their true score likely falls, taking into account the Standard Error of Measurement (SEM). Since no test is perfect and scores can vary slightly due to factors like test conditions or the child's mood, the confidence band helps us understand the possible range of scores that are likely to represent the child’s actual abilities.

Question 29

What is clause density

Answer 29

refers to the number of clauses (complete thoughts with a subject and a verb) per T-unit in a language sample. A T-unit is typically defined as one independent clause along with any dependent clauses

Question 30

example of a clause density

Answer 30

"the dog barked, and the cat ran away”

Question 31

What is the target clause density for school-aged children

Answer 31

For school-aged children, the typical target clause density is around 1.3 to 1.5 clauses per T-unit. This means that, on average, children in this age range are expected to produce sentences that contain just over one clause (a complete thought) per T-unit,

Question 32

what is a t-unit

Answer 32

One main clause and any attached subordinate clauses.

Question 33

What is Mean Length of T-Unit (MLTU)

Answer 33

an average of words per t unit

Question 34

What is the difference between derivational and grammatical morphemes

Answer 34

Derivational morphemes are added to a word to change its meaning or its part of speech. They can create new words or modify the meaning of existing ones. For example: -ness in happiness turns the adjective happy into a noun (happiness). Grammatical morphemes, often referred to as inflectional morphemes, are used to express grammatical relationships within sentences, such as tense, number, or possession. These morphemes do not change the meaning of a word itself,For example: -ing in running shows the present progressive tense of the verb run

Question 35

What is naturalness in language assessment

Answer 35

refers to how much the task or assessment setting reflects real-world communication. In other words, it evaluates how closely the assessment resembles everyday situations where language is used naturally, such as conversations, storytelling, or play.

Question 36

What is linguistic demand

Answer 36

refers to the difficulty level of a language task and how much cognitive and linguistic effort it requires from the person completing it. It takes into account factors such as:

Question 37

What are discourse skills

Answer 37

are advanced language abilities that go beyond basic vocabulary and grammar to focus on how people use language in larger contexts, such as in conversations, narratives, and explanations. These skills are essential for engaging in meaningful and coherent interactions with others.

Question 38

What’s the difference between micro and macro narrative analysis

Answer 38

macro analysis looks at content and organization—how the story is structured and the overall message, while micro analysis focuses on language use—how the child constructs the story grammatically and lexically.

Question 39

What other areas are checked in a communication evaluation?

Answer 39

Speech, voice, fluency, hearing, and pragmatics.

Question 40

speech

Answer 40

This area evaluates the articulation and pronunciation of speech sounds. It looks for issues like phonological errors.how clearly the person is able to speak and whether others can understand them.

Question 41

voice

Answer 41

The quality of the voice is assessed in terms of pitch, volume, resonance, and vocal quality

Question 42

fluency

Answer 42

looking for signs of stuttering or other disfluencies

Question 43

hearing

Answer 43

This helps identify any issues with auditory processing, hearing loss, or problems with sound perception that might affect speech and language development.

Question 44

pragmatics

Answer 44

t includes assessing social skills like taking turns in conversation, understanding nonverbal cues, using appropriate greetings, and adjusting language based on the listener or situation

Question 45

Why check areas outside of language in an evaluation

Answer 45

evaluating these areas helps professionals get a better view of a child’s communication abilities, understanding that factors like hearing, speech, voice, and social skills can all influence language development. Identifying issues in these areas ensures that the child gets the right support for any underlying problems, not just the language issues on the surface.

Question 46

What are the 3 elements of a short-term objective

Answer 46

behavior, condition, and criteria

Question 47

behavior

Answer 47

his describes what the child will do—the specific action or skill being targeted for improvement. The behavior should be observable and measurable. For example, "The child will produce a complete sentence"

Question 48

condition

Answer 48

refers to the circumstances or context under which the child will perform the behavior. It sets the parameters for the task and clarifies the environment, tools, or support provided during the activity. For example, "When given a picture"

Question 49

criteria

Answer 49

how well the child is expected to perform the behavior, often in terms of accuracy, frequency, or timing. The criteria set a benchmark for success. For example, "The child will use 80% of the correct past-tense verbs",

Question 50

What does SMART stand for in objectives

Answer 50

Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-bound.

Question 51

What does synthesizing mean in a language evaluation?

Answer 51

the process of combining all the information gathered from various sources—such as test results, observations, parent and teacher input, and language samples—to make informed, clinically sound decisions about the child's language abilities and need