PLS-5

Overview

The PLS-5 is a norm-referenced and criterion-referenced standardized assessment used to evaluate receptive and expressive language skills.

Target Age Group

Birth through 7 years, 11 months (7:11)

Description of Assessment of Language

The PLS-5 consists of two standardized scales: auditory comprehension (AC), to evaluate the scope of a child’s comprehension of language, and expressive communication (EC), to determine how well a child communicates with others. The test identifies receptive and expressive language skills in a wide variety of areas including: attention, gesture, play, vocal development, social communication, vocabulary, concepts, language structure, integrative language, and emergent literacy. The PLS-5 aids the clinician in determining strengths and weaknesses in these areas in order to determine the presence and type of language disorder (e.g. receptive, expressive, and mixed), eligibility for services and to design interventions.

How is the Assessment Conducted?

The PLS-5 is conducted in a play-based manner. Start at the child's chronological age. In order to establish a basal, the child needs 3 consecutive scores of 1. Reverse to the previous age start point until 3 consecutive scores of 1 are achieved. 6 consecutive scores of 0 mean a ceiling has been reached and the examiner can move onto the next subtest.

The PLS-5 record form has easy to follow directions including what materials are needed, along with exactly what to do or say to the child.

The expressive language section, is also known as the expressive communication (EC) section includes both verbal and gestured or nonlinguistic responses, including a verbal naming section. The examiner will point to pictures (e.g., ball, shoe, cookie) and ask the child to name the object.

The receptive language portion, also known as the auditory comprehension (AC) section, includes many prompts and activities such as asking the child to "Point to the arm on the bear" and "Get an ice cube and put it in a cup for Mr. Bear".

Strengths

The PLS-5 is a play-based assessment designed to be engaging for a wide age range of children. The test provides information about a child's skills at a pre-lingusitic level, unlike many other assessments for children.

Furthermore, the testing can be administered in many different settings, as the toys are provided. The PLS-5 includes an articulation screener and also comes in a Spanish version for children with Spanish-speaking backgrounds.

Weaknesses

The PLS-5 has complex basal and ceiling rules which can make scoring difficult and subjective based upon the administrator. The test also does not assess mild deficits in language development in comparison to a test such as the CELF-P.

In addition, the test also does not assess how these deficits may impact participation in a classroom setting. The normative sample for the PLS-5 is outdated (2010-2011), in comparison to tests such as the CELF-P (2019-2020).

Citation

Zimmerman, I. L., Steiner, V. G., & Pond, R. E. (2011). Preschool Language Scale, Fifth Edition (PLS-5) [Database record]. PsycTESTS. https://doi.org/10.1037/t15141-000