The Test of Adolescent and Adult Language: Third Edition (TOAL-3) is a standardized, norm-referenced assessment of receptive, written and expressive

language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of met ...

. The TOAL-3 was published in 1994. The test used to help identify individuals who may have a language disorder, and to help determine in what area(s) the dysfunction lies. Though the test is commonly administered by a Speech and Language Pathologist (SLP), it can also be administered by anyone who has some training or practice administering

or psychology type tests, and has familiarized him/herself with the test and scoring procedures.

Components

The TOAL-3 is composed of eight sub-tests examining expressive, receptive, and written capabilities in

semantic Semantics (from grc, σημαντικός ''sēmantikós'', "significant") is the study of reference, meaning, or truth. The term can be used to refer to subfields of several distinct disciplines, including philosophy, linguistics and comput ...

(

vocabulary A vocabulary is a set of familiar words within a person's language. A vocabulary, usually developed with age, serves as a useful and fundamental tool for communication and acquiring knowledge. Acquiring an extensive vocabulary is one of the la ...

) and

syntactic In linguistics, syntax () is the study of how words and morphemes combine to form larger units such as phrases and sentences. Central concerns of syntax include word order, grammatical relations, hierarchical sentence structure (constituency), ...

(

grammar In linguistics, the grammar of a natural language is its set of structure, structural constraints on speakers' or writers' composition of clause (linguistics), clauses, phrases, and words. The term can also refer to the study of such constraint ...

) areas. It includes written portions of the sub-tests.

Validity

The Examiner's Manual included in the testing materials provides detailed accounting of content, construct, and criterion validity for each sub-test, and the possible composites of those sub-tests. Test-retest reliability, inter-scorer, and internal reliability have been established using various measures. Results regarding this language assessment are consistent. However, when measuring language there can be many variables and much is left to examiner inference. Further assessment based on TOAL-3 results should not be undertaken unless one is a professional in a language area. There has since been another revision, and the current version is the TOAL-4.

Additional methods for assessing oral language

Narrative analysis Narrative inquiry or narrative analysis emerged as a discipline from within the broader field of qualitative research in the early 20th century, as evidence exists that this method was used in psychology and sociology. Narrative inquiry uses field ...

* GORT-4 (Gray Oral Reading Test 4th Edition)

References

* Overton, T. (2003) ''Assessing Learners with Special Needs: An Applied Approach''. New Jersey: Merrill Prenctice Hall

External links

The TOAL-3 test

{{DEFAULTSORT:Toal Language tests 1994 establishments in the United States Special education in the United States