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Hammill, D. D., & Newcomer, P. L. (2008). Test of Language Development-Intermediate (4th ed.). Austin,TX: PRO-ED.
Introduction
Oral language skills are important to consider in school psychology practice, as they are directly tied to many areas of academic functioning. For example, research has demon- strated that oral language skills in early elementary school predict reading comprehension in later grades (Kendeou, van den Broek, White, & Lynch, 2009). With a flourishing of language testing in the past 30 years, a rich variety of assessment tools have been devel- oped for use in language assessment (Bachman, 2000). This rise in the amount of instru- ments from which professionals can select calls for thorough review of the merits and drawbacks of using certain measures. The present review will examine the utility of the Test of Language Development-Intermediate: 4th Edition (TOLD-I:4) for practitioners, with particular emphasis on its relevance for school psychologists.
Test Description
The TOLD-I:4, developed by Hammill and Newcomer and published by Pro-Ed in 2008, is intended to provide professionals with a measure for examining receptive, expressive, and organizational language skills, as well as four major aspects of linguis- tics: semantics, grammar, phonology, and pragmatics. According to the test authors, the TOLD-I:4 allows professionals to identify children who may have oral language difficulties, determine their oral language strengths and weaknesses, monitor progress throughout intervention, and measure oral language proficiency for research purposes. This is merely stated in the manual; no referenced support is provided for these claims.
The TOLD-I:4 test kit includes three main testing tools: an Examiner's Manual, Picture Book, and Examiner Record Booklet. The Examiner's Manual contains infor- mation related to test administration, including a brief introduction on the test's history and development, general testing information (e.g., administration time), scoring and interpretation information, norming data, as well as important details regarding the test's reliability and validity. Finally, the manual also contains appendices that are used in hand scoring the test. Overall, the test manual is a comprehensive and well- organized resource for test users, making it both functional and user-friendly. The test protocol is developed for use throughout administration and contains all administra- tion information regarding the subtests. Standardized instructions are printed in a dis- tinct ink color for ease of administration. Furthermore, acceptable...