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TOOL NAME
Test of Integrated Language and Literacy Skills
USED TO EVALUATE
Identify and diagnose language and literacy disorders, including dyslexia, document patterns of relative strengths and weaknesses, track changes in language and literacy skills over time
AGE RANGE
6–18 years
COMPLETED BY
TILLS can be administered by speech-language pathologists, special educators, reading specialists, learning disability specialists, neuropsychologists, educational psychologists, and other educational specialists trained in individualized test administration
TIME COMMITMENT
You should be able to administer all 15 subtests in one 70- to 90-minute session or two 45-minute sessions. If shorter sessions are required, they should be completed in no more than 4 weeks
ABOUT
The TILLS Examiner's Kit is the reliable, valid, and comprehensive test kit you need to:
- identify and diagnose language and literacy disorders, including dyslexia
- document patterns of relative strengths and weaknesses
- track changes in language and literacy skills over time
Through 15 subtests measuring key skills, you'll assess and compare the full range of students' oral and written language and literacy skills. The resulting scores and the clear, at-a-glance TILLS Profile help you identify and track a student's strengths and weaknesses—information you'll use as you develop custom-tailored interventions.
One test kit. That's all you need to screen with the Student Language Scale, diagnose disorders, and monitor progress.
Description
Watch the "Introducing TILLS" video
Test of Integrated Language & Literacy Skills (TILLS) is the reliable, valid assessment professionals need to test oral and written language skills in students ages 6–18 years. TILLS is a comprehensive, norm-referenced test that has been standardized for three purposes:
- To identify language/literacy disorders
- To document patterns of relative strengths and weaknesses
- To track changes in language and literacy skills over time
To achieve these purposes, TILLS is constructed to allow you to derive scores for identifying, tracking, and profiling a students strengths and weaknesses and interpreting the results to support decisions about what to do next.
15 Extensively Researched Subtests
The TILLS assessment is all professionals need to capture the complete picture of students oral and written language skills. TILLS is composed of 15 subtests that allow examiners to assess and compare students language-literacy skills at both the sound/word level and the sentence/discourse level across the four oral and written modalities—listening, speaking, reading, and writing.
Curriculum Relevant
TILLS measures integrated language-literacy abilities that reflect the complex language and literacy demands of the general education curriculum.
Backed By Unparalleled Data
Each TILLS subtest has been fine-tuned to meet strong psychometric standards using scientific evidence gathered in numerous pilot studies and field trials, a national beta trial, and a standardization study with more than 1200 children and adolescents across the United States.
Strong Specificity and Sensitivity
TILLS tested both sensitivity and specificity across the full age range covered by the test. In the manual, diagnostic accuracy data are broken down into nine different age bands meaningful to the development of language and literacy skills. Sensitivity ranges from 81% to 97%, and specificity ranges from 81% to 100%.
Streamlined Assessment
Professionals can administer the entire test, single subtests, or combinations of subtests in one or more sessions. Comprehensive assessment can typically be administered in 90 minutes or less.
Useful for a Wide Range of Students
TILLS is ideal for evaluating students:
- suspected of having a primary language impairment, also called specific language impairment
- suspected of having a learning disability, reading disability, or dyslexia
- known to have an existing condition associated with difficulties in spoken and written language (such as deaf or hard of hearing, autism spectrum disorder, or intellectual disability)
- struggling with language and literacy comprehension and social communication skills (such as social communication disorder)
The TILLS Examiner's Kit includes:
All SLS Products
All TILLS Products
Reviews
Review by: Brenda Kleidon, M.A., Retired public school speech-language pathologist
"Much useful information for student educational planning is provided in one test!"
Review by: Jayne Trombley, MA CCC-SLP, retired public school speech/language pathologist, clinical supervisor, Western Michigan University
"TILLS is an excellent comprehensive tool for all ages of students in the assessment of language, listening, memory, and reading skills."
Review by: Indira Feustel, M.S., CCC-SLP, Speech-Language Pathologist
"I would recommend TILLS to any and all school-based SLPs."
Review by: Sue Torney, M.A., CCC-SLP, Speech-Language Pathologist
"The TILLS is the most comprehensive assessment Ive used in the 20 years Ive been a school-based speech-language pathologist. The Common Core Standards are heavily laden with complex language. School-based SLPs need a comprehensive assessment that identifies those language deficits for our students."
Review by: Audrey Adams, M.A., Reading Specialist
"With TILLS, I can give one assessment and get a wealth of information rather than giving multiple assessments, which I am currently having to do."
Review by: Shannon Bryant, M.S., CCC-SLP, Speech-Language Pathologist
"Students all enjoyed the test. It seemed to move quickly and kept their attention. Those who were retested even liked taking the test a second time."
Review by: Staci Brown, MA-SLP, Speech-Language Pathologist
"Based on the TILLS, it will be easier to relate my goals and student performance to curriculum. There are many components that make this test useful and correlate to academic standards."
Review by: Sue Ellen Krause, PhD, CCC-SLP, BCS-F, Speech-Language Pathologist
"[TILLS] culls out and differentiates problematic areas of language and literacy, as well as areas of strength, that no other formal measures accomplish. Findings gleaned from TILLS offer productive avenues to probe in the context of follow-up treatment. TILLS offers a unique and seminal contribution to language and literacy assessment."
Review by: Cathleen Queeno-Wall, M.A., CCC-SLP, Speech-Language Pathologist
"Very easy to administer and score. I expect the TILLS to be a major component in the evaluation of my students in the future."
Review by: Stephen MacCormack, M.S., SLP/CCC, Ed.S., private practice and school-based reading specialist
"Targets high-priority language and literacy skills in a thorough manner I plan to use TILLS as an integral part of my diagnostic process to build a more complete and accurate profile of a student/clients language and literacy proficiency."
Review by: Elizabeth DeBoer, Ed.S., school psychologist
"TILLS looks at reading, writing, and language in more depth than any other assessment I have used. I am thrilled to use TILLS to help identify academic challenges of my students with learning disabilities."