School SLPs, do you need some ideas for informal assessments to use with your students? Try dynamic assessment and non-word repetition!

<div>
  <div>
    Most school SLPs feel confident in determining eligibility for speech and
    language services using formal assessment. After all, formal assessments are
    designed to provide qualifying scores in a black-and-white way. When it
    comes to informal assessment, however, there are often swaths of gray.&nbsp;
  </div>
  <div>
    Informal assessments are useful and necessary, but it is sometimes difficult
    to know what type of informal assessment will best illuminate a
    student&rsquo;s strengths and weaknesses. We know that caregiver/teacher
    interviews and observation in various settings are vital components of a
    comprehensive assessment. But there are two additional types of informal
    assessment that you may not be using. These are
    <strong>dynamic assessment</strong> and
    <strong>non-word repetition</strong>.
  </div>

  <h2>Dynamic Assessment</h2>

  <div>
    Dynamic assessment, based on the work of Dr. Elizabeth Pe&ntilde;a, is an
    often-overlooked informal tool that can tell an SLP a great deal about how a
    student learns. Dynamic assessment consists of a test-teach-retest paradigm.
    For example, an SLP would:
  </div>

  <ul>
    <li>
      <strong>Test</strong>: Ask a student to tell a story using sequencing
      cards or a wordless picture book
    </li>
    <li>
      <strong>Teach</strong>: Teach specific vocabulary and narrative elements
      based on the student&rsquo;s performance
    </li>
    <li>
      <strong>Retest</strong>: Ask the student to tell the story again and note
      whether the student demonstrated an ability to incorporate what
      they&rsquo;ve learned
    </li>
  </ul>

  <h2>Benefits of dynamic assessment</h2>

  <div>
    There are several benefits of dynamic assessment in speech-language therapy:
  </div>

  <ul>
    <li>
      Unlike formal assessments, this informal assessment offers a valid way to
      detect language disorders in English learners or those for whom
      environmental factors are at play&nbsp;
    </li>
    <li>
      Dynamic assessment also gives an SLP an idea of how a student responds to
      intervention&nbsp;
    </li>
    <li>
      The process can provide an SLP with a language sample, effectively killing
      two birds with one stone.
    </li>
    <li>
      When listening to a student produce a narrative (language sample), an SLP
      can use dynamic assessment to listen for elements like:
      <ul>
        <li>Maintaining a theme</li>
        <li>Telling a story in sequence</li>
        <li>Length of utterance</li>
        <li>Presence of filler words</li>
        <li>Number of vocabulary words</li>
      </ul>
    </li>
  </ul>

  <h2>Non-word Repetition</h2>

  <div>
    Non-word repetition is another frequently overlooked informal
    speech-language therapy tool. During non-word repetition, a student is asked
    to repeat non-words of increasing length and complexity. The research of
    Dollaghan and Campbell suggests that non-word repetition can be a highly
    accurate way to determine whether a language disorder is present.
  </div>

  <h2>Benefits of Non-word Repetition</h2>

  <div>Non-word repetition is beneficial because it:</div>

  <ul>
    <li>
      Requires no vocabulary knowledge, making it a wonderful tool for assessing
      English-language learners&nbsp;
    </li>
    <li>
      Can help SLPs detect deficits in working memory or information processing
    </li>
    <li>
      Is a powerful tool since it taps into underlying skills such as:
      <ul>
        <li>speech perception</li>
        <li>phonological encoding</li>
        <li>phonological memory</li>
        <li>phonological assembly</li>
        <li>articulation</li>
      </ul>
    </li>
  </ul>

  <h2>Dynamic Assessment and Non-Word Repetition Resources</h2>

  <div>
    <a href="https://pubs.asha.org/doi/10.1044/0161-1461(2001/019)"
      >Gutierrez-Clellen and Pe&ntilde;a&rsquo;s research on dynamic
      assessment</a
    >
  </div>

  <div>
    <a href="https://pubs.asha.org/doi/10.1044/jslhr.4105.1136"
      >Dollaghan and Campbell&rsquo;s research on non-word repetition</a
    ><br />
    <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Czbg78bFwYM"
      >Video demonstrating assessment using non-word repetition</a
    >
  </div>

  <h2>School SLP Opportunities</h2>

  <div>
    Hopefully, these informal speech-language assessment strategies make a
    useful addition to your toolbox. Find out where your specialized skills as a
    <a
      href="https://www.crosscountryeducation.com/job-search-results?what=slp&amp;where="
      >school SLP</a
    >
    are needed most with Cross Country Education today.
  </div>
</div>


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