New! PLS-5 Norms in 1-Month Increments for Children Ages 2:6 to 2:11. See Resources below.
PLS-5 offers you a comprehensive developmental language assessment, with items that range from pre-verbal, interaction-based skills to emerging language to early literacy! This interactive, play-based assessment provides you with comprehensive, reliable, and trusted information about language skills for children birth through age 7.
- Administer PLS-5 to test a full range of language skills across the developmental language spectrum
- Link the Home Communication Questionnaire items directly to test tasks to serve as a baseline for testing. This frees testing time for observing natural interactions between parents and children from Birth–2:0.
- Address the needs of children through age 7 who have severe, persistent deficits such as autism or severe developmental delays
Use PLS-5 to:
- Target interaction, attention, vocal/gestural behaviors, and different levels of play for children from Birth to 2:11
- Assess preschoolers with new items for letter naming and book handling, and updated school readiness skills
- Target language skills that tap Theory of Mind and emergent literacy skills for 6- and 7-year-olds
- Assess children at age 7 with new language tasks such as assessing use of irregular plurals and synonyms, constructing sentences using two or three target words in the sentence, and answering questions about a story
PLS-5 Items: Changes from PLS-4
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New! Digital Stimulus Book – display visual stimuli on your desktop or laptop. Hotlinks and icons take you to the section of the test you want to administer. Order now
- NEW! Track progress using Growth Scores to monitor a child’s skills from Birth through age 7:11
- Address a wider variety of early play behaviors
- Better elicit target responses due to test item modifications that are based on examiner feedback
- Minimize transitions between the play and picture pointing tasks now that test items with manipulatives are grouped to streamline administration
- Engage children with the new Picture Manual featuring large, colorful illustrations
- Target multiple phonemes within words using the brief Articulation Screener, which now includes picture stimuli
- Many of the manipulatives are plastic (including Mr. Bear!) so they can be wiped clean after each administration
- 1,400 children participated in the standardization normative sample, collected in more than 45 states in the United States
- The standardization sample matches U.S. Census figures (March 2008 Update) for region, race/ ethnicity, and level of caregiver education
- Norms are reported for 3-month intervals for children Birth to 11 months and 6-month intervals for ages 12 months through 7 years, 11 months
- Clinical studies include a developmental delay study and three language disorder studies (children with receptive language disorder, expressive language disorder, and both receptive and expressive disorder)
- Case studies include children identified as high risk (environmental risk) and children identified with autism
- Multiple reviews for bias were conducted throughout the test development. Nationally recognized experts in assessment and bias issues conducted a thorough review of test items and art. An additional sample of African American and Hispanic children were tested to conduct the statistical analysis of bias.
- Split half reliabilities range from .80 to .97. Sensitivity for the Total Language score is .83; specificity is .80.
In addition to the Examiner’s Manual, Administration Scoring Manual, record Forms, and Home Communication Questionnaire, the following manipulatives are needed for administration**:
