University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
Lang Speech Hear Serv Sch. 2013 Apr;44(2):133-46. doi: 10.1044/0161-1461(2012/12-0093).
Standardized tests are one of the primary assessment tools used by speech-language pathologists (SLPs) to diagnose child language impairment. Numerous child language tests are commercially available; however, it is unknown what factors lead clinicians to select particular tests to use in clinical practice. This study investigated whether the quality of standardized tests, as measured by the test's psychometric properties, is related to how frequently the tests are used in clinical practice.
A total of 364 SLPs completed a survey regarding how frequently they used specific standardized tests when diagnosing suspected specific language impairment (SLI). The test manuals for 55 tests were reviewed to determine whether test characteristics, such as test reliability, validity, and accuracy, correlated with the frequency of test use.
The most frequently used standardized tests were omnibus measures (e.g., Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals-Fourth Edition [Semel, Wiig, & Secord, 2003], Preschool Language Scale, Fourth Edition [Zimmerman, Steiner, & Pond, 2002]) and single-word vocabulary measures (e.g., Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, Fourth Edition [Dunn & Dunn, 2007]). Publication year was the only test characteristic that correlated significantly with the frequency of test use.
The quality of a standardized test, as measured by the test's psychometric properties, does not appear to influence how frequently a test is used. These results highlight the need for increased evidence-based practice when diagnosing children with language impairment.
标准化测试是言语语言病理学家（SLP）用于诊断儿童语言障碍的主要评估工具之一。有许多儿童语言测试可供商业使用；然而，尚不清楚哪些因素导致临床医生选择特定的测试用于临床实践。本研究调查了标准化测试的质量（以测试的心理测量特性来衡量）是否与测试在临床实践中的使用频率有关。
共有 364 名 SLP 完成了一项关于他们在诊断疑似特定语言障碍（SLI）时使用特定标准化测试的频率的调查。审查了 55 项测试的测试手册，以确定测试特性（如测试可靠性、有效性和准确性）是否与测试使用频率相关。
最常使用的标准化测试是综合测试（例如，《临床语言评估基础第四版》[Semel、Wiig 和 Secord，2003]、《学前语言量表第四版》[Zimmerman、Steiner 和 Pond，2002]）和单个单词词汇测试（例如，《Peabody 图片词汇测试第四版》[Dunn 和 Dunn，2007]）。出版年份是唯一与测试使用频率显著相关的测试特征。
标准化测试的质量（以测试的心理测量特性来衡量）似乎不会影响测试的使用频率。这些结果强调了在诊断语言障碍儿童时需要增加基于证据的实践。
