Abstract:
The Pre-LAS (English) is a test designed to measure young children's expressive and receptive abilities in three linguistic components of oral language: morphology, syntax, and semantics. The six subscales elicit information about general and specific features of the oral language of children from four to six years of age. The test should be administered individually by an educator who is qualified to work with young children, has some familiarity with test administration, and is a fluent speaker of English. Administration time is 10 minutes. The six subscales are Simon Says, which is a receptive test of a student's ability to follow instructions using the "Simon Says" format; Choose a Picture, in which the child points to one of two pictures that best represents a situation being described; What's in the House, which involves the child labeling items in a drawing of a house; Say What You Hear, in which the child repeats sentences that are spoken aloud to him; Finishing Stories, in which the child completes a compound or complex sentence in response to a story prompt; and Let's Tell Stories, in which the child retells two short stories that have first been told to him. Picture stimuli are presented in an easel-style book and the test administrator records correct responses on an individual score sheet as the test progresses. An optional audiotape may be used for "Simon Says", "Choose a Picture", and "Say What You Hear" to ensure that standard English is modeled for the examinee. Test instructions may be given in any language that helps the examinee understand what is expected, but all test items are administered in English. The Scoring and Interpretation Manual provides guidelines for identifying appropriate responses and resolving scoring ambiguities. Raw scores correspond to one of three categories: Non-English Speakers, Limited English Speakers, and Fluent (Proficient) English Speakers. The norming study included 850 examinees at nine different sites and Cronbach's Alpha was used to estimate the reliability of each subtest. Reliability coefficients were in the .80s and .90s for those subtests as well as for part/whole correlations.