What Influences Speech-Language Pathologists' Use of Different Types of Language Assessments for Elementary School–Age Children?

Abstract

Purpose This study reports on data from a survey of speech-language pathologists' (SLPs) language assessment practices for elementary school–age children. The objective was to investigate the regularity with which SLPs use different types of assessments (described across data types, task types, environmental contexts, and dynamic features). This study also investigated factors that influence assessment practice, the main sources from which SLPs obtain information on language assessment and the main challenges reported by SLPs in relation to language assessment. Method A web-based survey was used to collect information from 407 Australian SLPs regarding the types of assessments they use. Factors that influenced the regularity with which different types of assessments were used were investigated using regression analysis. Results Most SLPs regularly used assessments that are norm-referenced, decontextualized, and conducted in a clinical context and less regularly used other types of assessments. Service agency, Australian state, and SLPs' years of experience were found to influence the regularity with which some types of assessments were used. Informal discussions with colleagues were the most frequently identified source of information on assessment practice. Main challenges related to limited time, lack of assessment materials, and lack of confidence in assessing children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Conclusions SLPs could improve current language assessment practice for elementary school–age children through more regular use of some types of assessments. Actions to facilitate evidence-based assessment practice should consider the contextual differences that exist between service agencies and states and address challenges that SLPs experience in relation to language assessment. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.14378948

UK speech and language therapists’ assessment of children's expressive language, and functional impairment and impact, following the CATALISE publications

“…While a variety of sources of information are always or frequently drawn on during assessment, standardised tests seem to be a source that is almost always part of the combination. Sixty-two percent of participants reported always or frequently using dynamic assessments, a higher figure than reported by Australian SLTs in a recent survey (Denman et al, 2021). This questionnaire item did not differentiate between formal and informal assessments, so one possibility is that this represents reporting of a 'diagnostic therapy', or ongoing evaluation approach, taken by therapists.…”

Standardized Measures Used Regularly by Speech-Language Pathologists when Assessing the Language Abilities of School-Aged Children: A Survey

“…All five of the most regularly used standardized measures by SLPs in this survey were norm-referenced measures administered under test-taking conditions to assess language at word and sentence level. As reported in a previous study, SLPs most regularly use norm-referenced measures that are de-contextualized in nature and less regularly use tasks that are more contextualized, such as language sampling [12]. In addition to Australian normative data, the versions of the CELF have normative data from the USA and UK and have been reported in previous studies as being commonly used in these countries [9, 22].…”

“…Measures with normative data from monolingual speaking populations are not appropriate for use when making diagnostic decisions about the language abilities of children from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds [60]. Previous survey research has reported that SLPs with a higher proportion of children from CALD backgrounds on their caseloads did not report less regular use of norm-referenced measures [12]. Given that the most regularly used standardized measures identified in this study were also norm-referenced, it is important that SLPs place focus on making evidence-based decisions when choosing assessments for use with children from CALD backgrounds [61].…”

“…Future research using qualitative methods may assist in understanding the decisions SLPs make when combining data from a range of assessments, including individual subtests, to make judgments on the language abilities of school-aged children [6, 7]. An analysis of the factors (e.g., service context, SLP demographics, geographical location) that influence SLP assessment practice more broadly has been previously reported in a separate publication [12]. It was identified that SLP assessment practice may be influenced by service agency, SLP years of experience, and geographical location [12].…”

“…Participants were asked: "How many children were assessed using the standardized measure considering the last 40 children who were assessed?" The response options included "no children," "few children" (i.e., 5 or less), "some children" (i.e., [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19], "many children" (i.e., [20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34], or "most" children (i.e., 35 or more). SLPs were asked to consider the last 40 children in survey questions as it was considered that 40 was a large enough number to capture trends but not so large that participants would be unable to accurately recall the standardized measures they used.…”