Student Language Scale (SLS) User's Manual

For use on its own or with the Test of Integrated Language and Literacy Skills™ (TILLS™), the Student Language Scale reliably screens students from ages 6–18 years for language and literacy disorders, including dyslexia. Filled out by parents, teachers, and students in just three minutes or less, the 12-question screener is a quick, cost-effective way to see how students are performing on academic tasks as compared to their same-age peers.

This concise User's Manual shows you how to effectively use the SLS to:

• Screen for language/literacy disorders by gathering teachers' and parents' ratings of students. When teachers or parents rate more than two areas on items 1–8 less than 5, SLS results indicate the student is at risk and needs further assessment
• Gather input about a struggling student's strengths and needs from multiple sources—a key requirement of IDEA
• Enhance home–school communication by gaining new insight into the student's performance and the teacher's, parents', and student's perspectives on it, whether or not everyone agrees and whether or not there are concerns

You'll get reader-friendly guidance on how to administer the SLS with teachers, parents, and students; a complete guide to the technical data supporting the SLS; and three examples that show how the SLS can help you make sound decisions about followup for students who need it.

Whether used with an entire classroom or with individual students, the SLS is the tool you need to quickly gather valuable information about strengths and needs—and plan next steps for students at risk for disorders.

Ideal for use with TILLS! Give the SLS to a whole class—and when results indicate the student is at risk, follow up with TILLS assessment.

Strong sensitivity and specificity! Sensitivity of the SLS to risk of language/literacy disorder is .90 for teachers and .85 for parents, and specificity (correct identification of typical learners) is .90 for teachers and .83 for parents.

To learn more about the SLS, watch this free webinar, Quickly and Reliably Screen Students for Language/Literacy Disorders—Including Dyslexia.

Nickola Wolf Nelson, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, BCS-CL, is Professor Emerita in the Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences and former Director of the Ph.D. program in Interdisciplinary Health Sciences at Western Michigan University. She is author of the book Language and Literacy Disorders: Infancy Through Adolescence, and first author of the Test of Integrated Language and Literacy Skills (TILLS), as well as editor-in-chief of the journal, Topics in Language Disorders. Dr. Nelson's research and publications focus on curriculum-based language and literacy assessment and intervention.

Michele A. Anderson, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, is an assistant professor at Western Michigan University. She was instrumental in coordinating the national validation studies for the Test of Integrated Language and Literacy Skills (TILLS) under the direction of Dr. Nickola Nelson and serves as TILLS Project Coordinator.

Dr. Anderson's most recent scholarly work involves investigating the role of verbal working memory in child language assessment, test development, cultural influences on pragmatics of writing, phonological awareness training for pre-school age children, and influences on reading comprehension.

She has taught child language development courses at Western Michigan University, co-written articles, and given numerous national presentations on topics related to school-age child language disorders.

Elena Plante, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, is a Professor in the Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences at The University of Arizona in Tucson. She is a fellow both of The University of Arizona's College of Science and of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Her areas of research interest include language learning and assessment practices. She in addition to multiple journal articles on these topics, Dr. Plante is a co-author on the Pediatric Test of Brain Injury and the Test of Integrated Language and Literacy Skills. Dr. Plante has also been using neuroimaging to explore the brain bases of language and cognition for the last 2 decades. She has active national and international collaborations in the areas of neuroimaging, language, and learning.