Common Core Early Language Screener
The CCELS is a screening tool similar to other early language screeners on the market, but priced much lower at $29.99. It's based on the Common Core Standards that are now making their way into the school systems (Is your school using them yet?).
I am not an SLP in the schools so I am not totally up to speed on everything common core. That being said language is language, common core or not. The CCELS is specifically designed to be used with children who are Pre-k and in kindergarten; however, it may also be useful for children above the kindergarten grade level. This is not a normed testing measure so if your school requires norm referenced materials, you are out of luck. It does appear to support common core standards quite nicely, so perhaps you can use that to convince your favorite administrator to purchase it.
The following subtests are included on the CCELS:
Pre-Kindergarten Level:
13 subtests: basic personal questions, labeling, colors, shapes, counting, counting-label, alphabet, alphabet-label, actions, prepositions, repeating-sentences, repeating-numbers, following directions-one-step
Beginning Kindergarten Level:
22 subtests: The 13 from the Pre-k level as well as sound/word discrimination, phoneme segmentation, word recognition, rhyming, pronouns, categories, comparative vocabulary, patterns, and answering questions.
Ending Kindergarten Level:
26 subtests: Including the 22 subtests from the previous levels, as well as blending, capitalization, patterns-first/last, expressive language scene.
This app allows you to enter student information (name, DOB, sex, grade, school, and evaluator), which it then puts in a generated report with the results of the screening. The grade level you enter will select which screening you will be administering. The app will save all the screenings you performed and allow you to search by student name, screening date, and completed/incomplete screenings.
Here are some screenshots from the CCELS
Upon completion of the screener, you have the option to generate a report of the results (in TXT or PDF format). This will include a short paragraph, as well as a useful chart of the student's performance on each subtest.
What tools have you found to be helpful to implement the Common Core Standards? Share the name of the app, book, video, whatever the tool you like below. On Sept. 7, we'll randomly pick a comment, and the SLP will get the Common Core Early Language Screener App for FREE!