TOAL
1. Title and edition of the assessment:
 Test of Adolescent Language (TOAL): A Multidimensional Approach to
Assessment
 Third printing, 1st edition
 Age: 11 years to 18 ½ years
 There is now a 4th edition testing ages between 12 and 25 years that
reportedly takes 60 minutes to administer
2. Publisher’s information:
 ProED; Austin, TX
3. Subtests and descriptions:
 Subtest I: Listening/Vocabulary: Student is given a field of four pictures.
The clinician says a target word and the student must pick the two
pictures that depict the word.
 Subtest II: Listening/Grammar: The clinician reads three different
sentences that are similar. The examinee must choose the two sentences
that have the same meaning.
 Subtest III: Speaking/Vocabulary: The clinician reads a target word. The
examinee orally uses the word in a sentence. The clinician writes the
sentence in the score sheet.
 Subtest IV: Speaking/Grammar: The clinician reads a sentence and
examinee repeats each sentence back. The clinician cannot repeat any
sentence until all 25 have been administered.
 Subtest V: Reading/ Vocabulary: The examinee is presented with three
related written words. From a choice of four other words, the examinee
chooses the two that relate to the target words. There are 25 total
presentations.
 Subtest VI: Reading/Grammar: Examinee reads five sentences. The
examinee chooses the two out of five sentences that have the same
meaning. There are 20 total presentations.
 Subtest VII: Writing/Vocabulary: There is a written word in the booklet.
The student must write the word in a sentence without changing its form.
Spelling and grammar are not important. There are 24 total presentations.
 Subtest VIII: Writing/Grammar: The examinee is given a set of
sentences (starting with 2 sentences and increasing in complexity to 6).
TOAL
The student must write a single sentence that combines all important
elements from the given set. The student does this independently.
1. Basal / Ceiling:
 Basal: for every subtest it is 5 consecutive correct responses.
 Ceiling: for every subtest it is 3/5 consecutive incorrect responses
2. Length of administration time:
 There is no time limit, but it ranges from 1-3 hours. Average time of
administration is 1 hour and 45 minutes.
3. Materials needed:
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Student booklet
Student answer booklet
TOAL manual
Pencils
4. Scoring procedures and scoring time:
 Up to 43 minutes maximum
 Students are given credit for all items that are below the basal. They are
recorded as missing all items found above the basal.
 Test I, II, V, and VI are multiple choice so they would take about 5
minutes to score.
 Test III: about 10-15 minutes because the clinician must listen to the
recorded sentences and write them down.
 Test IV: about 1 minute because scoring is done as test is administered.
 Test VII: about 5-7 minutes because clinician is judging semantic
understanding.
 Test VIII: about 15 minutes because the clinician must analyze the
original sentences and make sure the produced combination has all the
critical elements of the original sentences.
 NOTE: The above are the maximum scoring times if examinee did not
ceiling out.
5. Unique features of this assessment:
 Having to combine a range of sentences (up to six)
TOAL
 Choosing two pictures that share a meaning
 Choosing two words that go with three others from a similar category
 Measures receptive and expressive language and both oral and written
skills.
6. Research supporting the use of this assessment:
 Journal articles cited in the manual supporting the use of the subtests
administered:
o Wiig, E., & Semel, E. M. (1976). Language disabilities in children
and adolescents. Columbus, OH: Charles E. Merrill.
o Wiig, E., & Roach, M. A. (1975). Immediate recall of semantically
varied “sentences” by learning-disabled adolescents. Perceptual
and Motor Skills, 40, 119-125.
 A recent review of the newest TOAL-4 concluded test was a good
measure to assess oral and written language of both genders in
adolescents and young adults including varied ethnicities. However, it
was not considered a reliable measure for those with ADHD or learning
disability.
o Hammill, , D. D., Brown, V. L., Larsen, S. C., & Wiederholt, J. L.
(2007). Test of adolescent and adult language, fourth edition.
TOAL-4. Retrieved from http://0search.ebscohost.com.library.uark.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=
loh&AN=18043472&site=ehost-live&scope=site
7.
Technical data that support the use of this assessment:
 2723 students from 17 states and 3 Canadian provinces.
 Test-retest reliability is .91-.98 for 9 of the 11 quotients and .85 and .82
for the “speaking” and “listening” quotients respectively.