Screen students ages 6–18 years for language & literacy disorders, including dyslexia

The SLS screener is an evidence-based questionnaire and screener that gathers input about a student’s language & literacy skills from parents, teachers, and students.

Used with an entire classroom or with individual students, the SLS gathers valuable information about strengths and needs—so you can plan next steps for students at risk for disorders.

The SLS has been validated for three purposes.

Screening

The SLS can accurately identify students who should be evaluated further for a language/literacy disorder.

Sensitivity and specificity for screening with the SLS are strong for ratings made by teachers and parents.

Gather input for evaluation & planning

The SLS can be used to gather input about a struggling student's strengths and needs from multiple sources. This meets the requirements of IDEA (PL-108-446) to gather parent and teacher input as part of evaluation and planning activities for students with special needs.

School-home communication

Professionals can compare SLS forms at meetings such as parent-teacher conferences to enhance school-home communication for students at all ability levels.

Fast & easy

Teachers, parents, and students each complete the one-page SLS individually in just 3 minutes or less.

Administration and scoring is simple—a pencil and paper are all you need.

The SLS Screener Kit includes:

• One User’s Manual
• 50 Student Language Scale forms
• One Quick Start Guide

The SLS is made up of 4 sections.

Demographic information about the student and respondent who is filling out the SLS.

The 12-item rating scale section incorporates descriptive statements that informants rate using a 7-point Likert-like scale. The directions are to rate the student on each item, “compared with other students of the same age.”

Items 1 and 2 ask about using school vocabulary when listening or talking.

Items 3 and 4 ask about sound/word level abilities for reading decoding and written spelling.

Items 5 and 6 ask about listening comprehension and spoken expression of stories.

Items 7 and 8 ask about reading comprehension and written formulation of stories.

Items 9–12 ask about cognitive and social skills that are closely associated with cognitive-linguistic abilities, executive skills, and academic and social performance.

Screening for Dyslexia

Low ratings on items 3 and 4, in conjunction with low ratings on items 7 & 8 (reading comprehension and written expression), signal a particular risk for dyslexia.

This duplicated checklist of skills represents nonlanguage as well as language skill areas. Informants are asked to check the areas that are easiest for the student on the first list, and those that are hardest for the student from the same set of choices. This allows for input on areas of strength, as well as on the second list on areas of concern.

This question is open ended, allowing a wide variety of responses, which can reflect personal meanings. It also requests the informant to prioritize the area of greatest concern.

Perfect for use with TILLS!

The SLS is an ideal companion to the groundbreaking TILLS test. Start by giving the SLS to your whole class, and if results indicate a student is at risk, follow up with TILLS assessment.