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The
Bankson Language Test-Second Edition (BLT-2) provides examiners
with a measure of children's psycho-linguistic skills. The device
is organized into three general categories that assess a variety
of areas:
| Semantic
Knowledge |
Body
parts, nouns, verbs, categories, functions, prepositions, opposites. |
Morphological
Syntactical Rules |
Pronouns,
verb usage/verb tense, verb usage (auxiliary, modal, copula),
plurals, comparatives/superlatives, negation, questions. |
| Pragmatics-Ritualizing |
Informing,
controlling, and imagining. The selection of subtests to be
included in the BLT-2 was predicated on a review of those areas
that language interventions frequently test and remediate in
younger children. |
Test
results may be reported in terms of standard scores and percentile
ranks, which are provided for children ages 3-0 through 6-11. The
test is administered individually. The normative sample consisted
of more than 1,200 children living in 19 states.
The
demographic features of the sample are representative of the U.S.
population as a whole on a variety of variables as provided by the
Statistical Abstract of the United States (1985). Evidence of internal
consistency reliability is provided in the test manual, and reliability
coefficients exceed .90. Support for content, concurrent, and construct
validity also is provided. The BLT-2 is a valuable assessment instrument
for use by speech-language pathologists, special educators, and
others. A 20-item short form also is available to screen children
for language problems.
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