ERIC Number: EJ1019050
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2013-Oct
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0265-6590
EISSN: N/A
Does Formal Assessment of Comprehension by SLT Agree with Teachers' Perceptions of Functional Comprehension Skills in the Classroom?
Purse, Katie; Gardner, Hilary
Child Language Teaching and Therapy, v29 n3 p343-357 Oct 2013
This study aimed to consider collaborative practice in contributing to joint assessment and producing appropriate referral of children to speech and language therapy (SLT). Results of formal testing of selected comprehension skills are compared with functional/classroom performance as rated by class teachers. Thirty children aged 6.5-8.4 years, from three mainstream schools, were assessed using Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals (CELF-4; Semel et al., 2006) subtests: "Understanding Spoken Paragraphs" and "Concepts and Directions." The children's teachers completed the "listening" component of the Observational Rating Scale. Combined scores for Understanding Spoken Paragraphs and Concepts and Directions subtests are significantly correlated with Observational Rating Scale scores, which reflect teachers' ratings of comprehension in the classroom. The Concepts and Directions subtest scores alone correlated significantly with the teachers' Observational Rating Scale ratings, but the Understanding Spoken Paragraphs scores did not. The findings suggest that teachers can fairly accurately identify the level of children's functioning from informal observations, and these were corroborated through standardized speech and language therapy assessment. It is argued that holistic assessment and collaboration between health and education professionals can provide the basis for appropriate referral and effective assessment, contributing to accurate profiling and monitoring of intervention.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Speech Therapy, Young Children, Elementary School Students, Correlation, Teacher Attitudes, Speech Tests, Listening Comprehension, Elementary Schools, Comparative Analysis, Rating Scales, Student Characteristics, Measures (Individuals), Statistical Distributions, Intervention
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education; Grade 2; Grade 3
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United Kingdom
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Clinical Evaluation of Language Functions
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A