Overview
The Comprehensive Assessment of Spoken Language, Second Edition (CASL-2; Carrow-Woolfolk, 2017) is an individually-administered, norm-referenced instrument for persons 3 to 21 years old that measures the oral language processing skills of comprehension and expression. Fourteen individual test scores are combined to yield six index scores: General Language Ability Index (overall skill), Receptive Language, Expressive Language, Lexical/Semantic (knowledge and use of words and word combinations), Syntactic (knowledge and use of grammar), and Supralinguistic (knowledge and use of language in which meaning is not directly available from the surface lexical and syntactic information). Pragmatic language (knowledge of language that is appropriate across different situational contexts and ability to modify language according to the social situation) is also assessed using this instrument. Compared with its predecessor, the CASL-2 includes an expanded age range for most tests, updated item content, alternative scoring guidelines for African-American dialect, revised start and stop rules, and updated materials. Scoring can be completed by hand or using an online system. When used with the Oral Passage Understanding Scale (OPUS), and the Oral and Written Language Scales, Second Edition (OWLS-II), the CASL-2 can provide a cohesive evaluation across a broad range of language areas. The CASL-2 can be used across a variety of settings and is also useful for evaluating response to intervention via tracking improvement over time. Both a Comprehensive Form (ages 3-21) and a Preschool Form (ages 3-6) are available. Notably, the publisher’s website indicates that those who purchased the CASL-2 manual prior to 2/15/17 should either download the CASL-2 Manual Supplement for the updated Grammaticality Judgment (GJ) norms or use their FREE online scoring module at platform.wpspublish.com.
Summary
Age: 3 to 21 years
Time to Administer: 30-45 minutes
Method of Administration: Individually administered, norm-referenced assessment of oral language processing skills of comprehension and expression
Yields standard scores, percentile ranks, descriptive ranges, confidence intervals, test-age equivalents, and grade equivalents
Subscales: Composite Score: General Language Ability Index
Index Scores: Receptive Language Index; Expressive Language Index; Lexical/Semantic Index; Syntactic Index; Supralinguistic Index
Autism Related Research
None found. However, one study of its predecessor, the CASL (Carrow-Woolfolk, 1999), specific to use within autism populations was found, the findings of which CASL-2 users may wish to consider. In their study of concurrent validity of subtests of the CASL by comparing them with the assessment of communication and social skills on the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales in 35 children and adolescents with higher functioning ASD, Reichow and colleagues (2008) found that the Pragmatic Judgement and Inferences subtests of the CASL appeared to document the difficulties that individuals with ASD had in adaptive use of language for communication.