CASL Test Chart

Basic Concepts

Range

Core: 3–4
Sup: 5–6

Measures

Comprehension of perceptual & conceptual words.

Basal and Ceiling Rules

Basal: Score of 1 on 3 consecutive items
Ceiling: Score of 0 on 5 consecutive items

Processing Skills

Receptive

Structure Category

Lexical/Semantic

Description

Examiner reads a sentence aloud while examinee looks at four pictures. Examinee points to the picture or part of the picture that represents the correct response.

Example

Here are some pictures. Point to the little cat.

Antonyms

Range

Core: 5–12
Sup: 13–21

Measures

Word retrieval & knowledge of opposites.

Basal and Ceiling Rules

Basal: Score of 1 on 3 consecutive items
Ceiling: Score of 0 on 5 consecutive items

Processing Skills

Retrieval and Expressive

Structure Category

Lexical/Semantic

Description

Examiner says a stimulus word. Examinee must respond orally with a single word that means the opposite of the stimulus word.

Example

Tell me the opposite of yes. Either yes or _____.

Synonyms

 

Range

Core: 13–21
Sup: 7–12

Measures

Recognition of two words that have the same meaning.

Basal and Ceiling Rules

Basal: Score of 1 on 3 consecutive items
Ceiling: Score of 0 on 5 consecutive items

Processing Skills

Receptive

Structure Category

Lexical/Semantic

Description

Examiner says a stimulus word and four synonym options, then repeats the stimulus word. The examinee chooses the option that means the same as the stimulus.

Example

The first word is glad. The four words to choose from are hurt, hungry, sleepy, happy. Which word means the same as glad?

Sentence Completion

Range

Sup: 11–21

Measures

Word retrieval given the context of a spoken sentence.

Basal and Ceiling Rules

Basal: Score of 1 on 3 consecutive items
Ceiling: Score of 0 on 5 consecutive items

Processing Skills

Retrieval and Expressive

Structure Category

Lexical/Semantic

Description

Examiner reads the stimulus sentence, which is missing the last word. The examinee must respond with a single word that meaningfully completes the sentence.

Example

In order to start the car, Dad must turn the _____.

Idiomatic Language

Range

Sup: 11–21

Measures

Oral expression of common idioms

Basal and Ceiling Rules

Basal: Score of 1 on 3 consecutive items
Ceiling: Score of 0 on 5 consecutive items

Processing Skills

Expressive

Structure Category

Lexical/Semantic

Description

Examiner reads the stimulus idiom, which is missing its final part. The examinee must complete the phrase with an acceptable form of the idiom.

Example

Finish what I say: After Kim broke the plate, mother said, "Don’t cry over spilled _____."

Syntax Construction

Range

Core: 3–10
Sup
: 11–21

Measures

Grammatically correct oral expression of phrases & sentences.

Basal and Ceiling Rules

Basal: Score of 1 on 3 consecutive items
Ceiling: Score of 0 on 5 consecutive items

Processing Skills

Expressive

Structure Category

Syntactic

Description

Examiner reads the stimulus item while the examinee looks at a picture. The examinee must respond with a word, phrase, or sentence that is grammatically and semantically appropriate.

Example

Here the boy is standing (examiner points to the standing boy). Here (examiner points to the sitting boy) the boy is _____.

Paragraph Construction of Syntax

Range

Core: 5–10
Sup: 3–4 and 11–12

Measures

Comprehension of syntactic structures.

Basal and Ceiling Rules

Basal: Only one incorrect item (score 0) in a paragraph
Ceiling: Stop testing when the paragraph total is 0 or 1

Processing Skills

Receptive

Structure Category

Syntactic

Description

Examiner reads a stimulus paragraph twice, then reads a series of items relating to the paragraph while the examinee looks at a set of pictures for each item. The examinee must respond by pointing to or giving the number of the correct response.

Example

This story is about a family of four. Besides the mom and the dad, there are two children, a boy and a girl. The boy’s name is Rick, while the girl’s name is Anna. Examiner repeats the story and turns the Test Book page so the examinee can see the pictures of the family. Which one is Anna?

Grammatical Morphemes

Range

Core: 11–12
Sup: 7–10 and 13–21

Measures

Knowledge & expression of grammatical analogies.

Basal and Ceiling Rules

Basal: Score of 1 on 3 consecutive items
Ceiling: Score of 0 on 5 consecutive items

Processing Skills

Expressive

Structure Category

Syntactic

Description

The examiner reads one pair of words or phrases that demonstrates an analogy, then reads the first word or phrase of a second pair. The examinee must complete the analogy of the second pair.

Example

Skate is to skated, as talk is to _____.

Sentence Comprehension of Syntax

Range

Core: 11–12
Sup: 13–21

Measures

Given syntactically different sentences, recognition of same or different meanings.

Basal and Ceiling Rules

Basal: Score of 1 on 3 consecutive items
Ceiling: Score of 0 on 5 consecutive items

Processing Skills

Receptive

Structure Category

Syntactic

Description

For each item, examiner reads two pairs of stimulus sentences, one pair at a time. The examinee must determine whether both sentences in each pair mean the same thing.

Example

The boy watched TV after supper. After he had watched TV, the boy ate supper. Do these two things mean the same? Tell me "yes" or "no."

Grammaticality Judgment

Range

Core: 13–21
Sup: 7–12

Measures

Judgment of & ability to correct sentence grammar.

Basal and Ceiling Rules

Basal: 3 consecutive maximum point awards
Ceiling: 5 consecutive items without the maximum point award

Processing Skills

Expressive

Structure Category

Syntactic

Description

Examiner reads a stimulus sentence that is grammatically either correct or incorrect. The examinee must judge the correctness of the sentence and, if it is incorrect, must correct it by changing only one word.

Example

The boy are happy. Does that sound right? If the examinee responds correctly with "no," examiner says: Now make it sound right. Change only one word.

Nonliteral Language

Range

Core: 7–21

Measures

Understanding of spoken messages independent of literal interpretation.

Basal and Ceiling Rules

Basal: Score of 1 on 3 consecutive items
Ceiling: Score of 0 on 5 consecutive items

Processing Skills

Primarily Comprehension with Expression

Structure Category

Supralinguistic

Description

Examiner reads the stimulus item and the accompanying question. The examinee must answer by explaining the nonliteral meaning of the item.

Example

When 5-year-old Jimmy started pulling his sister’s hair, Dad said, "Jim, you’re not a puppy anymore." What did he mean?

Meaning from Context

Range

Core: 13–21
Sup: 11–12

Measures

Derivation of the meaning of words from their linguistic context.

Basal and Ceiling Rules

Basal: Score of 1 on 3 consecutive items
Ceiling: Score of 0 on 5 consecutive items

Processing Skills

Primarily Comprehension with Expression

Structure Category

Supralinguistic

Description

Each item contains a very uncommon word. The examiner reads the item and the examinee must explain the meaning of the uncommon word by using context clues.

Example

As they paraded slowly through the extremely narrow streets, the band members were so serried that they could hardly play their instruments next to each other. Explain what serried means.

Inference

Range

Sup: 7–17

Measures

Use of world knowledge to derive meaning from inferences.

Basal and Ceiling Rules

Basal: Score of 1 on 3 consecutive items
Ceiling: Score of 0 on 5 consecutive items

Processing Skills

Receptive and Expressive

Structure Category

Supralinguistic

Description

Examiner describes a situation in which part of the information is omitted, then asks an accompanying question. The examinee must answer the question using world knowledge to infer the missing information.

Example

Before Jim left for work, he put on a heavy woolen coat. What was the weather like?

Ambiguous Sentences

Range

Sup: 11–21

Measures

Comprehension of words, phrases, and sentences that have more than one meaning.

Basal and Ceiling Rules

Basal: Score of 1 on 3 consecutive items
Ceiling: Score of 0 on 5 consecutive items

Processing Skills

Primarily Comprehension with Expression

Structure Category

Supralinguistic

Description

Examiner reads the stimulus item and examinee must respond with two possible meanings for the item.

Example

It is light. Tell me two different meanings for this sentence.

Pragmatic Judgment

Range

Core: 3–21

Measures

Knowledge & use of appropriate language.

Basal and Ceiling Rules

Basal: Score of 1 on 3 consecutive items
Ceiling: Score of 0 on 5 consecutive items

Processing Skills

Primarily Expression with Comprehension

Structure Category

Pragmatic

Description

Examiner reads a situation that represents some aspect of everyday life that requires communication or a pragmatic judgment on the part of the examinee. The examinee responds with the appropriate thing to say or do in the situation.

Example

Suppose the telephone rings. You pick it up. What do you say?