Abstract

In 2004, on behalf of Pearson Assessment, The Psychometrics Centre conducted an anglicisation and UK standardisation of the 4th Revision of the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals (CELF-IV) and of the 2nd Edition of CELF Preschool, both widely used tests of language abilities for children between the ages of 3 and 16 years. The project involved the administration of the tests to 1400 children within this age range across the UK. The CELF was designed to identify children and young adults who lack the basic foundations of content and form that characterize mature language use. CELF norms today provide quantitative support for determining a child’s eligibility for services, classification, and follow-up decisions. The construction of tests such as the CELF involves the application of the basic psychometric principles of reliability, validity, standardization and equivalence. The challenges that each of these present to the assessment of speech and language will be the subject of this seminar.