Early Literacy Research Library (ELRL) - Metric

Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals (CELF)

CELF


Access: FREE/Open Access

evaluation focus

Language Skills

applicable ages

60-263 months; 5-21 years

available language(s)

English

availability

Must be purchased


summary

The Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals (CELF) is an instrument that can be used to assess the language skills of school-aged children. The CELF-5 includes 16 standalone tests that are interactive and can be administered flexibly to target clinical concerns and/or referral needs. Measures include a variety of structured, interactive, and observational/interview-based tasks.

 

Components Assessed / Scores Generated:

    • Core Language
    • Receptive Language
    • Expressive Language
    • Language Structure
    • Language Content

Also Available:

    • percentile ranks
    • growth scale values
    • age equivalents

Tests Included:

    • Observational Rating Scale
    • Sentence Comprehension
    • Linguistic Concepts
    • Word Structure
    • Word Classes
    • Following Directions
    • Formulated Sentences
    • Recalling Sentences
    • Understanding Spoken Paragraphs
    • Word Definitions
    • Sentence Assembly
    • Semantic Relationships
    • Reading Comprehension
    • Structured Writing
    • Pragmatics Profile
    • Pragmatics Activities Checklist

Administration: verbal response to picture stimuli
Core Language Score: 30–45 minutes | Total Time: varies

 

Reliability (Coret 2015)

    • Internal Consistency: split-half method with Spearman-Brown correction formula
        • Young (ages 5-8)
          • Subtests: acceptable-excellent (average coefficients ranged from 0.77-0.99)
          • Indexes: excellent (average coefficients ranged from 0.93-0.97)
        • Older (ages 9-21)
          • Subtests: acceptable-excellent (average coefficients ranged from 0.60-0.99)
          • Indexes: excellent (average coefficients ranged from 0.92-0.97)
    • Test-Retest: measure administered 2x within a 7-46 day interval
        • Young (ages 5-6:11)
          • Subtest Stability: acceptable-excellent (0.68-0.92)
          • Composite Stability: good (0.84-0.89)
        • Middle (ages 8-9:11)
          • Subtest Stability: adequate-good (0.77-0.89)
          • Composite Stability: good-excellent (0.87-0.92)
        • Older (ages 12-16:11)
          • Subtest Stability: poor-excellent (0.56-0.93)
          • Composite Stability: good-excellent (0.86-0.91)
    • Interrater: excellent (0.91-0.99; Formulated Sentences-Word Structure)

 

Validity (Coret 2015):

    • Internal Structure: good-strong interrelationships among
        • Subtests (0.19-0.65)
        • Indexes (0.72-0.97)
    • Concurrent: relations among CELF-5 scores and other measures
        • CELF-4:
          • Subtests: adequate-good correlations (00.64-0.88)
          • Indexes: good-excellent correlations (0.82-0.92)
        • Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, Fourth Edition (PPVT-4):
          • Subtests: adequate-excellent (0.75-0.95)
          • Indexes: adequate-good (0.68-0.80)
        • Expressive Vocabulary Test, Second Edition (EVT-2):
          • Subtests: adequate-excellent (0.71-0.98)
          • Indexes: adequate (0.65-0.78)

 

Available for Purchase: https://www.pearsonassessments.com/store/usassessments/en/Store/Professional-Assessments/Speech-%26-Language/Clinical-Evaluation-of-Language-Fundamentals-%7C-Fifth-Edition/p/100000705.html


supporting literature

Paslawski, T. (2005) The Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals, Fourth Edition (CELF-4): A Review. Canadian Journal of School Psychology, 20(1-2), 129-134.
PDF: CELF – 1 – Paslawski 2005
Link: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0829573506295465

Coret, M.C., McCrimmon, A.W. (2015) Test Review: Wiig, E.H., Semel, E., & Secord, W.A. (2013). Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals–Fifth Edition (CELF-5). Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 33(5), 403-500.
PDF: CELF – 2 – Coret 2015
Link: https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1068757

Barragan, B., Castilla-Earls, A., Martinez-Nieto, L., Restrepo, M.A., Gray, S. (2018) Performance of Low-Income Dual Language Learners Attending English-Only Schools on the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals-Fourth Edition, Spanish. Language, Speech, & Hearing Services in Schools, 49(2).
PDF: CELF – 3 – Barragan 2018
Link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5963037/