The OWLS measures oral language skills in individuals ages 3 to 21. It assesses listening comprehension and oral expression through tasks measuring lexical, syntactic, and pragmatic abilities. The test is used to identify language disorders and monitor progress. It has good reliability and correlates well with other language and academic measures. Administration is straightforward but the test may not reflect typical classroom language demands.
HMCS Max Bernays Pre-Deployment Brief (May 2024).pptx
OWLS LANGUAGE SCALES
1. OWLS
ORAL AND WRITTEN LANGUAGE SCALES
Author: Elizabeth Carrow-Woolfolk
Publication Date: 1995
Ages: 3 to 21 years
Listening Comprehension and Oral Expression
3. The OWLS Measures
Lexical
Syntactic
Syntactic construction
Supralinguistic
The Oral Expression also includes
Pragmatic Language
4. What is the purpose of using OWLS?
Identification
Learning disabilities
Language disorders
Other related difficulties
Intervention
Addressing potential academic difficulties
Progress Monitoring
Record of growth
Research
Gathering data
Comparative studies
9. The Oral Expression Scale
96 items
10 to 15 minutes
Here is Mary (point). Mary is a girl.
Here is John (point). John is a _______ BOY
A spoken response is required for every item.
Gestures are not acceptable responses
10. Sample – Oral Expression Scale Scoring
(Age: 12 to 13 yrs old )
In this picture, Aunt Lucy asks Mary what time her friend’s party begins .
Mary calls her friend to find out
What should Mary ask?
CORRECT RESPONSE
What time is your party?
When will the party begin?
What time does your party starts?
What time is it?
What time are you coming over?
(a specific time)
Response:
1 0
11. (Age: 12 to 13 yrs old )
In this picture, Aunt Lucy asks Mary what time her friend’s party begins .
Mary calls her friend to find out
What should Mary ask?
INCORRECT RESPONSE
What time is your party?
When will the party begin?
What time does your party starts?
What time is it?
What time are you coming over?
(a specific time)
Response:
Where do you live? 1 0
13. Norming Sample – Geographic Area
Geographic region
103 113
88
South 36.0%
North Central 25.1%
19 39 89
45 44 37 NORTHEAST
98
36 99
West 20.2%
16 40 41 93 92 91
42 97 90
38 43 33 10
32
34 35 110
21
10 11 4 95
Northeast 18.7%
17 28 22 96
11 29 25 48 47 10 010
NORTH 8
27 23 49
12 WEST 50 9 7 94
15 CENTRAL 26 87 66
14 85 84 56
46 24
7 413 31 8
30 60 75 74 6
8 10 68
2 5 77
18 69 76 SOUTH 73
3 55
67
51
52 58 70 North East
62
53
54
59 West
65
82 61 64
79 63
81
57 North
Central
South
14. Norming Sample
Race Gender
White 70.9% Females 50.7%
Black 14.9% Males 49.3%;
Hispanic 10.1% Males Females
Other 4.1%
Other Black
Hispanic
White
4 or more yrs
Maternal Education Level Grade 11 or less
college
High School Graduate 39.3%
1 to 3 Yrs of College or Technical School 25.2%
4 or More Yrs of College 19.7%
Grade 11 or less 15.8% 1-3 yrs college
High School
Mother's education level was used to indicate socioeconomic status. or Tech school
17. Reliability Results
Split half method
Listening Comprehension--0.84
Oral Expression—0.87
Oral Composite—0.91
Test - Retest
Listening Comprehension: 0.73 to 0.80
Oral Expression: 0.77 to 0.86
Oral Composite: 0.81 to 0.89
Interrater
Oral Expression Scale: mean of four age groups: 0.95
21. Validity – General Scores
GLOBAL SCORES
K-ABC Mental Processing composite
0.76 (Oral Comp)
WISC-III Full Scale IQ
0.73 (Oral Comp)
0.76 (Language Comp)
K-BIT Composite
0.75 (Oral Comp)
0.72 (Language Comp)
22. Correlations with measures of Academic Achievement
K-TEA Comprehensive PIAT-R WRMT-R
Reading Composite General Information Word ID
0.60 (Oral Comp) 0.75 (Oral Comp) 0.75 (Oral Comp)
0.74 (Language Comp) 0.69 (Language Comp) 0.76 (Language Comp)
Mathematics Composite Total Reading Word Attack
0.43 (Oral Comp) 0.80 (Oral Comp) 0.67 (Oral Comp)
0.63 (Language Comp) 0.81 (Language Comp) 0.70 (Language Comp)
Battery Composite Mathematics Word Comprehension
0.47 (Oral Comp) 0.82 (Oral Comp) 0.88 (Oral Comp)
0.66 (Language Comp) 0.82 (Language Comp) 0.88 (Language Comp)
Total Test Passage Comprehension
0.84 (Oral Comp) 0.70 (Oral Comp)
0.86 (Language Comp) 0.73 (Language Comp)
Total Reading
0.82 (Oral Comp)
0.83 (Language Comp)
23. Observations
Administration is easy
Neither scale requires reading by examinee
Scoring is fast and reliable
Based on its reliability, OWLS should only be
used as a whole to help make classroom
decisions, since oral composites has reliability of
0.90 or higher.
Test re-test showed low reliability, perhaps
because the second time the test was given was
usually eight weeks after the first administration
(instead of two weeks).
Little information was provided related to
predictive validity.
Task-demands on the test may not be ‘typical” of
those found in the classroom setting.
EDP
Second Edition is available (OWLS-II)
626
24. Reliability Results
Split half method
Listening Comprehension--0.84
Oral Expression—0.87
Oral Composite—0.91
Test - Retest
Listening Comprehension: 0.73 to 0.80
Oral Expression: 0.77 to 0.86
Oral Composite: 0.81 to 0.89
Interrater
Oral Expression Scale: mean of four age groups: 0.95
The OWLs is assess three areas of language OrallisteningWrittenFor purposes of our presentation we will only be discussing oral and listening scales. Another group will be completing the written scale.
The items covered by the Listening Comprehension and Oral Expression are: Lexical –comprehension of nouns, verbs, modifiers, personal and demonstrative pronouns, prepositions, idioms, words with multiple meanings, words that represent direction, quantity, spatial relations, among others. Syntactic –comprehension of noun and verb modulators (number, tense, gender, voice, person, and case)Syntactic construction – embedded sentences, coordination, subordination, negation, direct/indirect object. Supralinguistic-language analysis on a level such as comprehension of figurative language and humor; derivation of meaning from context, logic, and inference; and other higher-order thinking skills.The Oral Expression also includes Pragmatic Language or functional language, which comprises of appropriate responses in specific situations, such as questions, courtesy responses, reasonable explanations, etc.
The OWLS is an individually administered assessment of language skills and specific performance in areas of speaking listening, and writing. The OWLS is an instrument that could be used for assessing learning difficulties that might be language related.For purpose of Identification: The scales are useful in identifying students that have learning disabilities, language disorders and other related difficultiesCLICKIntervention: OWLS assessment can be the first step in addressing potential academic difficultiesCLICKProgress monitoring: provides a record growth from preschool through age 21CLICKResearch – assist gathering longitudinal data using the same test content it permits comparative studies of various language impairments. CLICK
The first scale we are going to discuss is the Listening Comprehension Scale.When administering the OWLS, the listening comprehension scale is always given first.CLICK
The listening Comprehension scale consist of 111 items, and it takes 5 to 15 minutes to be administered. Timing greatly depends on the age of the examinee. Administration of the Listening Comprehension Scale involves the examinee to select one out of four pictures that best describes the verbal stimulus read by the examinerThe examinee must select by pointing to or saying the number of the picture that best depicts the verbal stimulus. A spoken response is not required.To start the examination:*Administer Example 1 (and if necessary Example 2 and 3). If the examinee responds correctly to examples continue the test with age appropriate Start ItemIf the examinee demonstrates difficulty with the examples, it is likely he or she will have difficulty with the designated Start Item. In this case, you should, use and earlier Start Item than the one indicated by chronological age.*Read each item only once.
*
Administration of the Oral Expression Scale involves the examinee to respond verbally to the verbal stimulus read by the examiner by describing a picture, finishing the description of picture, or by answering a question. In some items, the examiner describes the first picture and the examinee responds by describing the second. In other items, the examiner describes a portion of a picture and the examinee responds by finishing the description or answering a question. A spoken response is required for every item. Gestures are not acceptable responsesAdminister Example 1 or 2 to the examinee; regardless of if the examinee got the example correct or incorrect, you start with the age appropriate item.*Read each item to the examinee. The examinee has 10 seconds to answer. If the examinee doesn’t answer in 10 seconds or asks you to repeat you may repeat the item only once. Document on the record form the examinee didn’t respond and you read it again. If the examinee still doesn't respond then the examinee gets a score of 0. If the examinee responds correctly the examinee gets a score of 1.
Sample 12 to 13 yrs oldIn this picture, Mother asks Tom what time his friend’s party begins (point). Tom calls his friend to find out (point). What should Tom ask?
Oral Expression Scale: Possible correct and incorrect responses are listed on the record form. Space is provided for writing other responses. Scoring rubrics and multiple-point criteria for scoring selected items are also provided on the record form to help in preliminary scoring. Item-by-Item Scoring Rules are provided in the Manual as a final check.An additional feature called Descriptive Categories of Responses is provided for the Oral Expression Scale. This elective option allows the examiner to identify the particular category of each correct and incorrect response. For example, the examiner can determine whether the correct responses are preferred or acceptable, and whether the incorrect responses are grammatically or semantically/pragmatically incorrect, or both. This information may be used descriptively and will aid in the analysis of the examinee's strengths and weaknesses in oral language.The overall raw score is determined just like Listening Comprehension Scale; Basal Rule and Ceiling Rules. Always use the lowest basal and the highest ceiling. The manual has specific rules and information for scoring that need to be followed.
The Sample size of the norming sample during the standardization was 1,985 individuals. (CLICK) Age ranged from 3 to 21 years. (CLICK) The characteristics of the sample included gender, geographic region, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status (maternal education level). Listening Comprehension Scale was given first and the Oral was given last.Examinees aged 3 to 4 were only given the Listening and Oral Scales.Examinees aged 5-21 took all three scales. (CLICK)
The norming sample was collected from 74 sites nationwide, Four different geographical areasAlthough it was quite spread out, the south has the largest percentage
Items to highlight:the OWLS sample was selected to match the US Census data from the 1991 census current population survey.
(Click)To test the reliability of the OWLS internal reliability data and standard errors of measurement were computed using the split half method. They looked at odds and evens. A Rausch ability was computed for each half and the scores were correlated and adjusted using the Spearman-Brown formula. Oral reliabilities were slightly higher than the Listening probably because the examinees could guess on the multiple choice. Standard errors of measurement were computed and had confidence intervals for 68%, 90% and 95%(CLICK)The stability of the test was examined using test-retest. The test was administered twice. The time between each test ranged from 20 to 165 days; with a median of 8 weeks. Examinees weren’t told that they were going to be given the test a second time. They had the same examiner and there was 80 females, and 57 males. 16 were African American, 3 were Hispanic, and 118 were white. They also took into account the examinee’s mother’s education. They came form regions in the NE, NC, S, and W. (CLICK)Since the Oral Expression Scale items have an open ended nature, reliability was also examined through interrater reliability. They correlated the test based on female and male.(click)
The OWLS should reliability of below .90 for each the Listening and the Oral scaled when they did the split half method, test re-test, and interrater. But when the scales where looked at together as a whole the reliability was above 0.91 because together they have more power. The only one that wasn’t above .90 was the test re-test and we think that is because the test was not given again within 2 weeks.
Criterion-Related ValidityThe OWLS was correlated with other measures of language. Using the OWLS Oral Composite and Language Composite:The following are the correlationsTEST FOR AUDITORY COMPREHENSION OF LANGUAGE REVISEDTACL-R Total Score: .78 (Oral Comp.)CLINICAL EVALUATION OF LANGUAGE FUNDAMENTALS REVISEDCELF-R Total Language: .91 (Oral Comp.); .88 (Language Comp.)PEABODY PICTURE VOCABULARY TEST- REVISEDPPVT-R: .75 (Oral Comp.); .72 (Language Comp.)
Correlations with measures of cognitive ability:Using the OWLS Oral Composite and Language Composite:VERBAL ABILITY Kaufman Assessment Battery for ChildrenK-ABC Achievement score: .82 (Oral Comp.)WISC III VerbalWISC-III Verbal IQ: .74 (Oral Comp.); .77 (Language Comp.)Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test – vocabulary subtestK-BIT Vocabulary subtest: .76 (Oral Comp. & Language Comp.)NONVERBAL ABILITYKaufman Assessment Battery for Children – Non verbal scoreK-ABC Nonverbal score: .70 (Oral Comp.) WISC III performance IQ WISC-III Performance IQ: .69 (Oral Comp.); .70 (Language Comp.) Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test – matrices subtest K-BIT Matrices subtest: .65 (Oral Comp.); .59 (Language Comp.)
GLOBAL SCORESKaufman Assessment Battery for Children – Mental Processing compositeK-ABC Mental Processing composite: .76 (Oral Comp.)WISC III FULL SCALEWISC-III Full Scale IQ: .73 (Oral Comp.); .76 (Language Comp.)Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test –CompositeK-BIT Composite: .75 (Oral Comp.); .72 (Language Comp.)
We found out that people who have used it have found that the test is easy to use and easy to follow up.With regard to reliabilityBased on reliability of the test, we would only use the test as a whole to help make classroom decisions since the Oral Composites has reliability of .90 or higher. We wouldn’t administered just one of the three tests to help make classroom decisions. We would need to use all three. Language Composite (taking all three into account) has highest reliability.Test re-test showed that it wasn’t that reliable and we feel it wasn’t because the second time the test was given was usually 8weeks after the first instead of 2 weeks.IF YOU ARE INTERESTED ON A COPY OF THIS SLIDE PRESENTAITON, IT WILL BE POSTED IN SLIDESHARE UNDER OWLS LANGUAGE SCALES
With regard to reliabilityBased on reliability of the test, we would only use the test as a whole to help make classroom decisions since the Oral Composites has reliability of .90 or higher. We wouldn’t administered just one of the three tests to help make classroom decisions. We would need to use all three. Language Composite (taking all three into account) has highest reliability. Test re-test showed that it wasn’t that reliable and we feel it wasn’t because the second time the test was given was usually 8weeks after the first instead of 2 weeks.
