Test of Pragmatic Language: A Review and Critique.

The Test of Pragmatic Language (TOPL) is an individually administered instrument designed to assess pragmatic language skills that can be used with students in kindergarten through high school. It is more specifically intended for use with children, adolescents, and adults with learning disabilities, language delays, reading difficulties, or aphasia. It is said to provide information on six dimensions of pragmatic language: physical setting, audience, topic, purpose, visual-gestural cues, and abstraction. The 44-item test is accompanied by an examiner's manual, scoring materials, and the test-picture book. The normative sample consisted of 1,016 examinees from the United States (24 states) and Canada (1 province), representative with regard to sex, residence, race/ethnicity, geographic region, and age. Overall validity findings about the test have been acceptable, although limited by small sample size and some lack of information about student age or grade level. Previous reviews have generally supported the usefulness of the TOPL, although two reviewers have suggested that more information is needed to relate actual test items to the defined six areas, and one reviewed has pointed out some limitations in the applicability of the TOPL pictures to all students. The TOPL appears to be a tool to provide a profile of pragmatic or social language skills. (Contains five references.) (SLD)