CELF-5 provides clinicians with a streamlined, flexible battery to assess semantics, morphology, syntax, and pragmatics for students ages 5-21. CELF-5 features structured and authentic tests of language ability (including observational and interactive measures) for a complete picture of students’ language skills. Guidance on using this test in your telepractice.
CELF-5 provides clinicians with a streamlined, flexible battery to assess semantics, morphology, syntax, and pragmatics for students ages 5-21. CELF-5 features structured and authentic tests of language ability (including observational and interactive measures) for a complete picture of students’ language skills. Guidance on using this test in your telepractice.
Eleanor Semel, Elisabeth H. Wiig and Wayne A. Secord
Age Range:5:0 –21:11
Administration:Verbal response to picture stimuli
Scoring Option:Q-global™ Web-based Administration, Scoring, and Reporting; and manual scoring
RTI Tiers:RTI Levels 2 and 3
Completion Time:30–45 minutes for the Core Language Score. Total assessment: variable
Scores/Interpretation:Core Language Score, Receptive Language, Expressive Language, Language Structure and Language Content standard scores, percentile ranks, growth scale values, and age equivalents.
Telepractice:Tips on using this test in your telepractice
Publication Date:Fall, 2013
The new CELF-5 is a comprehensive battery of tests that provides you with a streamlined, flexible approach to language assessment. It now offers a more robust assessment of pragmatics using observations and interactive activities. Also included are new written language tests, updated norms, and a scoring/reporting platform delivered on Q-global. Available in both traditional and digital editions, CELF-5 provides highly accurate diagnostic information with current normative data, reflecting today’s diverse population.
Battery of 16 stand-alone tests
New features to assess social language skills
Targeted assessment of written language
New Digital Kit option
Improved usability
In addition to manual scoring, CELF-5 will be available on Q-global™, Pearson’s web-based scoring and reporting platform.
Q-global offers:
CELF-5 Score Reports
Reports
Related Information
Case Studies
Visit our resource center to download the above information material.
Getting Started with Q-global Training Series
View these brief training modules about Q-global
Frequently asked questions follow.
What is the same?
Age range: 5:0 through 21:11 (exceptions: Reading Comprehension and Writing. Those are for ages 9:0 through 21:11.
Index Scores Core Language, Content, Structure, Language Memory, Receptive Language, Expressive Language (there is no Written Language Index)
Test Items on some tests
What has changed?
Battery of tests: The CELF-5 is a battery of 16 tests (each age group takes 10 tests) Test Changes: Revisions: All of the tests have some revisions to the wording or artwork based on clinician feedback and research data
Major revisions to the CELF-4 subtests include:
Normative data
Sentence Comprehension
Is this a new subtest? Is it something other than auditory comprehension at the sentence level rather than the paragraph level?
It is not. The Sentence Structure test was re-named to better describe the construct being tested. It is auditory comprehension at the sentence level.
Following Directions
One reason I stopped using the CELF is that the Concepts and Following Directions subtest was so heavily dependent on a child having adequate attention and memory, it often pulled a score down far below what made sense for a child. Children who have adequate concept knowledge and language skills but poor attention are penalized by this subtest. How does the new FD subtest compare to the old CFD subtest?
The CELF-5 splits Concepts and Following Directions into two different subtests. One focuses on comprehension of concepts; the other is a set of items that requires a child to point to pictures, following directions that are increasingly complex (1, 2, and 3 step commands.) Examples: “Before pointing to the last square, point to the first circle.”
A student with a language disorder may have appropriate concept knowledge for his or her age, but experience difficulty in the classroom when he or she cannot integrate concept knowledge into increasingly long and complex directions typically given by teachers in the classroom. The difficulty may lie in understanding long complex directions and/or attention and memory deficits. You will need to work with the psychologist on your team to better understand the role of memory and attention that contribute to the child’s deficits in comprehending complex directions.
Formulated Sentences
While I understand with the rationale behind this subtest for measuring syntax skills, I have found that children who have poor attention (and therefore memory) score more poorly on this subtest than is indicated by their conversational syntax.
The CELF-5 splits Concepts and Following Directions into two different subtests. One focuses on comprehension of concepts; the other is a set of items that requires a child to point to pictures, following directions that are increasingly complex (1, 2, and 3 step commands.) Examples: “Before pointing to the last square, point to the first circle.”
There are two ways to look at a child’s morphosyntax abilities: Formulated Sentences and Recalling Sentences. Formulated Sentences gives you information about a child’s ability to construct a sentence without auditory cues; Recalling Sentences gives you information about a child’s ability to use his or her knowledge of linguistic rules–to repeat a long sentence, a child has to have mastery of the underlying grammatical structures rather than depend on memory alone. Having both tests enables you to do some differential diagnosis—is a child capable of producing a morphosyntactically complex sentence on his own, but not in a sentence repetition task (then it may be an attention or memory problem) or is the child unable to do either task well? If the latter is the case, memory and attention may not be the issues causing the problem.
Understanding Spoken Paragraphs
Word Definitions
Sentence Assembly
Semantic Relationships
Written Language (Reading Comprehension and Writing)
Is the age range for Reading and Writing the same as the other CELF-5 tests?
9:0 through 21:11
Are the Reading and Writing subtests required to obtain composite scores for certain ages?
They are not.
Core Language Scores
If a Core Language score of 64 is obtained when administering the CELF-4, should the CELF-4 then be administered in entirety to optimally identify strengths and weaknesses and if also being used to classify a student? Is the Core Language Standard Score ever sufficient in and of itself?
The Core Language Score is the most reliable and sensitive indicator of the presence of a language disorder. When the Core Language Score is low, it seems prudent to administer all the standardized subtests of CELF-4 to identify potential patterns of strengths and weaknesses.
Includes Examiner’s Manual, Technical Manual, Stimulus Books (2), Record Form 1 (15), Record Form 2 (15), Reading and Writing Supplement 1 (10), Reading and Writing Supplement 2 (10), ORS Forms (50), CELF-5 luggage tag and softcase.
ISBN: 9780158036007
CELF-5 provides clinicians with a streamlined, flexible battery to assess Semantics, Morphology, Syntax, and Pragmatics for students ages 5-21. CELF-5 features structured and authentic tests of language ability (including observational and interactive measures) for a complete picture of students’ language skills.
Inside the session – Administration, scoring & interpretation
Key Learning – Valuable knowledge on the application of CELF-5 in different settings and its relevance for your current professional practice. Learn about the assessment of new tests of reading comprehension & writing, new checklist – pragmatic Activities Checklist & Pragmatic profile.
Duration – 12 hours
Who can attend – Speech & Language Pathologists, Psychologists, Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapists and Nursing personnel.
