Assessing Expository Discourse Abilities Across Elementary, Middle, and High School

This article provides guidance to clinicians and educators on using language sample analysis (LSA) to assess the expository language abilities of students across grades. Focusing on microstructural and macrostructural characteristics and comparing with grade-level standards, clinicians can use LSA to assess a student's production and comprehension of academic language and to guide intervention planning. Example discourse samples are included, along with a brief discussion of how the LSA results for these samples can be used for intervention planning. Using curriculum-based materials, LSA in expository contexts can lead to improved identification of students who struggle with the complex language of the classroom. Educator–clinician collaboration to identify and address these struggles can lead to improved student success at school and beyond.
Source: Topics in Language Disorders - Category: Speech-Language Pathology Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research