# THE ADVANTAGE

With so many assessments on the market, it can be tough for test administrators to determine which tool they need to obtain the most reliable and comprehensive information about their students’ capabilities. To help clarify what makes TILLS unique, we spoke with TILLS lead developer Nickola Nelson, Ph.D., CCC-SLP.

## How does the TILLS™ differ from other leading language assessments for school-age children?
A key difference is that TILLS is validated for identifying disorders of both language and literacy. We refer to this as "language/literacy disorder" to communicate that language IS literacy and literacy IS language. TILLS is unique because it can show how a student’s oral and written language skills relate to each other at the sound/word structure level and at the sentence/discourse level. This information can be used in determining eligibility for special education services based on the presence of language impairment and/or learning disability.

In contrast, using TILLS allows examiners to compare performance on Nonword Reading and Nonword Spelling with performance on oral tasks involving Nonword Repetition and Phonemic Awareness. This can help teams decide whether knowledge of phonological and morphological word structure is a strength or weakness that should be considered as part of intervention planning. Likewise, examiners can compare Listening Comprehension and Reading Comprehension directly to decide whether sentence/discourse problems are present, or, if Reading Comprehension is lower than Listening Comprehension, whether Reading Comprehension may be hampered by reading decoding problems.

## I understand the Listening Comprehension and Reading Comprehension subtests in TILLS offer some advantages over other tests. Can you talk about that?
TILLS is unique in providing Listening Comprehension and Reading Comprehension subtests that are co-normed and structured the same. Because of this, examiners can compare oral and written language comprehension directly to learn whether they are similarly high or low or if one is significantly higher than the other.

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### Fast Facts About TILLS
Test of Integrated Language and Literacy Skills (TILLS) is the reliable, valid assessment professionals need to test oral and written language skills in students ages 6-18 years. A comprehensive, norm-referenced test, TILLS has been standardized for three purposes:

1. To identify language and literacy disorders
2. To document patterns of relative strengths and weaknesses
3. To track changes in language and literacy skills over time

## How does TILLS assessment work?
Through 15 subtests in key areas such as phonemic awareness, reading decoding, story retelling, and listening and reading comprehension, TILLS lets you capture the complete picture of students' oral and written language skills. Results give you total and composite standard scores that can be charted for a visual profile of a student's strengths and needs.

### How long does TILLS take?
Comprehensive assessment can typically be administered in 90 minutes or less. You can give the entire test or selected subtests in one or more sessions.

## Is there anything else you’d like to say to summarize the advantages of TILLS over other tests?
TILLS offers numerous advantages, but, in particular, it allows examiners to compare a student’s strengths and weaknesses across all four language modalities of listening, speaking, reading, and writing using a language levels model supported by scientific evidence. The TILLS Profile Chart on the back cover of the Examiner Record Form does this by graphically displaying scores in a way that is easy to interpret and to explain to parents, teachers, and students so that the team can decide what to do next. Plus, because the Profile Chart is supported by psychometrically sound factor analysis, and because identification core scores have good sensitivity and specificity at every age, examiners can be confident in the scientific evidence supporting their assessment of their students’ needs.