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Utah Test of Language Development
Fourth Edition
Merlin J. Mecham
Ages: 3-0 through 9-11 years
Testing Time: 30-45 minutes
Administration: Individual
The Utah Test of Language Development - Fourth Edition (UTLD-4) is an objective instrument for measuring expressive language skills in children with and without disabilities. This popular test is an effective tool for speech pathologists, audiologists, and psychologists in clinical and educational settings.
The fourth edition of the UTLD contains five new subtests: Picture Identification, Word Functions, Morphological Structures, Sentence Repetition, and Word Segmentation. Scores reflect performance in semantics, grammar, and phonology. Subtest scores combine to provide composite scores reflecting Bloom and Lahey's (1978) components of language, Content and Form, as well as a Total Language.
The UTLD-4 is a complete revision, normed on 841 students in 14 states. Sample populations represent the geographical distribution of the United States in 1999 projected for 2001. Percentiles and standard scores are provided for children ages 3-0 through 9-11. The subtest standard scores are based on a distribution having a mean of 10 and a standard deviation of 3 and composites scores provide an index that has a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15.
Test Reliability: Coefficients alpha and test-retest correlations support individual administration of the UTLD-4.
Validity: Content-description validity was established through careful selection of items using developmental studies as guides and evaluation of items using both item analyses to choose "good" statistical items and differential item functioning analyses to find and eliminate biased items. Criterion-related validity compared the scores of the UTLD-4 with TOLD-P:3 subtest and composite score and the KLST-2 Total score. Results demonstrated a strong correlation between the two instruments. Both content-description and criterion-related validity support the UTLD-4 as a valid tool for measuring children's expressive language.
Limiting Bias: Examination of items on the UTLD-4 indicated little or no bias relative to gender, racial, or ethnic groups.
COMPLETE UTLD-4 KIT INCLUDES: Examiner's Manual, Picture Book, and 25 Profile/Examiner Record Booklets, all in a sturdy storage box. (2003)
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