OWLS-II
Oral and Written Language Scales,
Second Edition
Elizabeth Carrow-Woolfolk, PhD
Theoretical Background of OWLS-II
 Based on author’s theory that language facilitates the
communication of ideas
 “In our world, there are an infinite number . . . of
subjects to talk about. Humans could not communicate
about the world with efficiency if we did not have a
shortcut, a way of referring to the world using a code to
represent things and ideas.”
 Language is this code
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Using Theory to Inform Assessment
 The OWLS-II measures the receptive and expressive
aspects of oral and written language
 These are represented by the four major
communication processes: listening, speaking, reading,
and writing
 The theory also highlights understanding the specific
elements of language that cause difficulty for a child
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OWLS-II Scales
Scale
Process
Listening Comprehension (LC)
Oral language reception:
Listening to and comprehending
spoken language
Oral Expression (OE)
Reading Comprehension (RC)
Written Expression (WE)
Oral language expression:
Speaking
Written language reception:
Reading and comprehending
written language
Written language expression:
Writing
Items are presented verbally and
pictorially; responses are given
primarily by pointing on multiplechoice items
Items are presented verbally and
pictorially; responses are given
verbally
Items and responses are presented
in text; responses are given by
pointing or saying the number of the
response on multiple-choice items
Items are presented verbally and
visually (some in text, some
pictorially); responses are written
Item format
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OWLS-II Scale Comparisons
 Listening, speaking, reading, and writing have common
elements
 Each process draws upon the same information
 It is noteworthy when a person experiences problems
with one of the processes and not with the others
 Measurement of LC/OE grouped together; RC/WE
grouped together
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OWLS-II Improvements
 Standardization of all four scales on the same
population
 Provision of parallel forms for progress monitoring
 Addition of new items that measure language used in
the classroom (e.g., perpendicular)
 Revision of stimulus materials
 Labeling each item by the linguistic structure it
measures
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OWLS-II Improvements (continued)
 Addition of a Reading Comprehension Scale
- The theory upon which the OWLS-II is based, as
well as much recent research, illustrates the
importance of integrating reading assessment with
oral language assessment
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OWLS-II Improvements (continued)
 Revision of the Written Expression scoring
guidelines to provide more clinical information
- Many writing tests focus on the student’s
abilities in a general fashion
- OWLS-II evaluates each writing response
for skills in multiple areas
- Can easily be compared with specific skills
on other scales
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OWLS-II Improvements (continued)
 Development of alternative, acceptable responses
for students who speak dialectical variations of
English
- It is essential that individuals are not penalized
for speaking or writing in a way that is
consistent with their culture and dialect
- OE and WE scales provide examples of
common responses by speakers of African
American English
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Categories of Linguistic Structures
Measured by the OWLS-II
Category
Lexical/Semantic
Description of linguistic structures
Vocabulary: nouns, verbs, modifiers, idioms, prefixes, and suffixes
Syntactic
Grammatical morphemes: function words (e.g., pronouns,
prepositions, conjunctions, auxiliaries, determiners) and inflections
(e.g., possessives, plurals, verb tense, noun–verb agreement)
Sentence structure: word order, sentence complexity, accuracy, and type
Supralinguistic
Nonliteral language: double meaning, inference, verbal reasoning,
figurative language, indirect requests, and humor
Pragmatic
Functional and social characteristics of language
Text Structure
(RC and WE only)
Conventions (WE only)
Knowledge and performance of the combination of all other
categories to create lengthy text passages to be read or written
Letter formation (fine motor), spelling, punctuation, and capitalization
Note. The term linguistic structure is used to describe elements of language, such as nouns, conjunctions, and so on. The term
category is used to group structures having common functions.
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Comprehensive Measurement
 Each of the four scales has items that measure
the same linguistic structures
 This allows for qualitative comparison of item
type across scales
 This also helps guide intervention planning
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Conclusions
 The OWLS-II retains the best of the original
OWLS
 It makes important improvements in items,
scoring, stimulus materials, and functionality
 It is the most comprehensive measurement of
language available
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For more information contact:
WPS
www.wpspublish.com
800.648.8857