1. Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals- Fourth Edition (CELF-4)
Group Members:
Jennifer Heitkemper, Terri Mooney, Jackie Schultheis, Courtney Combs, and Christin Assi

2. Test Background Author Publisher Age Range Cost: Eleanor Semel, Ed.D
Elisabeth H. Wiig, Ph.D
Wayne A. Secord, Ph.D
Publisher
Pearson Education, Inc.
Age Range
5-21 years
Cost:
Screening Test- $262
Includes: Screening Test Examiner’s Manual, CELF-4 Screening Test Record Forms (25), CELF-4 Screening Test Stimulus Book
Cristin

3. Purpose
An evaluation tool that is used to identify, diagnose, and conduct follow-up evaluations of language and communication disorders in patients between the ages 5 and 21 years old.
The fourth edition has better assessment procedures that are comprehensive, flexible and multi- perspective
Cristin

4. Design and Construction
Administered individually
Used by:
SLPs
School Psychologists
Special Educators
Diagnosticians
Materials:
Examiner’s Manual
Two Stimulus Books
Record Forms 1 and 2
Observational Rating Scale
Christin

5. The CELF-4 Assessment Process Model
Jen

6. Test Administration
Stimulus Book is set up as an easel and placed between examiner and examinee
Directions shown to examiner
Visual stimuli shown to examinee
Directions for each subtest are written on stimulus book and Record Form
Certain subtests allow repetition
Certain subtests have a ceiling
Give example
Terri

7. Subtests-Level 1 Concepts & Following Directions Word Structure
Formulated Sentences
Recalling Sentences
Word Classes 2
Word Definitions
Jen

8. Concepts and Following Directions
C&FD 2

9. Word Structure
A 1,2

10. Formulating Sentences
Jen

11. Subtests-Level 2 Word Classes 1 Sentence Structure
Expressive Vocabulary
Word Definitions
Sentence Assembly
Semantic Relationships
Understanding Spoken Paragraphs
Cristin

12. Word Classes - 1
WC1 5

13. Sentence Structure
SS 17

14. Expressive Vocabulary

15. Sentence Assembly
SA 1

16. Semantic Relatioships

17. Subtests-Level 3 Phonological Awareness Word Associations
Rapid Automatic Naming
Number Repetition 1
Familiar Sequences 1
Jackie

18. Rapid Automatic Naming
RAN Demo 1,2

19. Level 3 Assessment Demonstration
Familiar Sequences
All Ages
Repeat familiar sequences as fast as possible
Alphabet
Days of the Week
Odd Numbers
Etc.
Number Repetition
Repeat numbers forwards and backwards
Jackie

20. Subtests-Level 4 Pragmatics Profile Observational Rating Scale
Courtney

21. Scoring Test – Types of Scoring
Subtests
Scaled Scores
Confidence Intervals (68, 90, or 95% level)
Percentile Ranks
Confidence Interval
Age Equivalents
Criterion-Referenced Scores
Meets/Does Not Meet
Normal/Slower than Normal/Non-Normal
Terri

22. Scoring Test – Types of Scoring
Core Language Score and Indexes
Scaled Scores from specified tests are added together and converted to a standard score
Standard Score
Mean – 100 SD -15
Confidence Interval
Percentile Rank
Discrepancy Comparisons
Looking for significance of differences between:
Receptive Language Index/Expressive Language Index
Language Content Index/Language Structure Index
Terri

23. Test Score Interpretation
Norm-Referenced Core Language Score
Norm-Referenced Index Scores
Receptive Language Index
Expressive Language Index
Language Content Index
Language Structure Index
Working Memory Index
Terri

24. Adequacy of Norms Age and ethnic background
Non-native English speakers and second language English speakers
Not normed on other aspects
Jackie

25. Test Strength and Limitations
Strengths
Limitations
Results give clinicians a broad view of student’s language skills
4 Levels of assessment allow for deeper understanding of possible underlying problems
Multiple composite scores to assess student’s strengths and weaknesses
Full test is time consuming to administer
Clinician needs to be very familiar with dialects or language communities to which a student is exposed
Any modifications made to the test invalidate the norms so scores cannot be reported
No indication of normalization on ESL children
Lack of engaging content for some subtests (ex. Recalling Sentences and Phonological Awareness)
Heavy reliance on memory
Jackie

26. Test Reliability Does this test provide consistent scores?
Test-Retest Reliability
-Is the test dependable across repeated administrations.
-Data showed that the test was reliable across all ages.
No alternate form was administered.
Internal Consistency
-How well does the test measure one construct?
- Split-half method
Courtney

27. Test Validity Does this test measure what it is meant to measure?
Content Validity
Positives
Negatives
Construct Validity
Sensitivity- level of construct validity
- Used diagnostics validity statistics to test sensitivity of various cut scores.
Courtney

28. Questions?

29. References
Alphonse, J. (Performer), Blakley, A. (Performer), & Brown, D. (Performer) (2011, Oct 26). Celf-4. ablakley24. [Video podcast]. Retrieved from
Celf-4 case studies. (2008). Retrieved from B8EE-98CA705035A0/0/CELF4_Case_Studies.pdf
Ryan, M. (Producer) (2012, March 28). Test and assessments group project: Celf-4. CELF-4. [Video podcast]. Retrieved from B8EE-98CA705035A0/0/CELF4_Case_Studies.pdf
Semel, E., Wiig, E., & Secord, W. (2004). Clinical evaluation of language fundamentals: Fourth edition. (4th ed.). San Antonio : Pearson Education, Inc.