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Pre-LAS English

Duncan, S. E. and DeAvila, E. A.(1985). How to Administer Pre-LAS. Monterey,CA: CTB/McGraw-Hill.

Summary
Pre-LAS 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 four to six years of age.

The test can be administered by any teacher or other school personnel 1) who are qualified to work with four-to-six year-olds, 2) who are proficient speakers of standard English, 3) who are completely familiar with all administrative aspects of the test, either through a workshop or through self-study, and 4) who are able to distinguish correct from incorrect responses. Audio cassettes with test items and stories are provided as a means of standardizing test stimuli. The cassettes are optional to the extent that they may be distracting to young children.

Details for establishing the reliability of test administration and scoring are described in the Pre-LAS Scoring and Interpretation Manual. Sample protocols are provided in this manual.

Pre-LAS is individually administered. Approximately ten minutes should be allocated for the testing of each student. Testing should be done in a quiet area, and the student should not have heard the test items before the test is administered to him or her.

The six subscales test the following:

  1. The student's ability to follow instructions.
  2. The child's ability to understand simple oral instructions as well as language used to talk about relationships, likenesses and differences. The child points to one of two pictures which best represents the oral stimulus sentence.
  3. The child's ability to provide labels for common household objects - articles of clothing, eating utensils, and furniture. The administrator points to various items and asks the student to identify the item.
  4. The child's expressive ability with morphological and syntactical features through the repetition of oral stimulus sentences.
  5. The child's ability to provide an appropriate clause to complete a compound or complex sentence.
  6. The child's ability to listen to a short story and then retell it. Sample probe questions are provided for use when the child is shy or reluctant to talk.

The general instructions for the test may be given in the child's home language, and the administrator should be certain the child thoroughly understands the general instructions. But the test items themselves should be administered in English.

Availability Information
CTB/McGraw-Hill
20 Ryan Ranch Road,
Monterey, CA 93940

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