About the Book
Essential for effective use of the Test of Integrated Language and Literacy Skills™ (TILLS™), this in-depth Examinerâ (TM)s Manual walks professionals through administration and scoring of the assessment. With this start-to-finish manual, TILLS examiners will:
- review the purposes, uses, background, and components of TILLS
- get comprehensive instructions on administering all 15 TILLS subtests
- find answers to frequently asked questions about TILLS
- learn specific considerations for testing students with previously identified special needs
- get the normative data tables needed to complete TILLS scoring
- understand how to interpret scores with the help of sample profiles for different types of students
The manual also includes the detailed instructions examiners need to complete the four charts of the Examiner Record Form:
- Scoring Chart. Calculate subtest scores and enter corresponding standard scores and percentile ranks, four composites based on subtest standard scores, and the studentâ (TM)s identification core score.
- Identification Chart. Identify when a studentâ (TM)s score is consistent with a language/literacy disorder.
- Profile Chart. Produce a visual display of patterns of relative strengths and weaknesses based on standard scores and graph your selected confidence interval.
- Tracking Chart. Document changes in language and literacy skills over time.
Clear and comprehensive, this indispensable guide helps professionals administer and score TILLS accurately and use the results to inform next steps.
For every subtest, TILLS examiners get:
- explicit, precise instructions on how to orally administer the test
- guidelines for following start rules, basal rules, ceiling rules, and probe rules
- detailed directions for recording and scoring student responses
- a tip box for helping them score the subtest and resolve challenging issues
- helpful completed examples with explanatory narratives
About TILLS
TEST OF INTEGRATED LANGUAGE AND LITERACY SKILLS (TILLS) is the reliable, valid assessment professionals need to test oral and written language skills in students ages 6--18 years. TILLS is a comprehensive, norm-referenced test that has been standardized for three purposes:
- To identify language and literacy disorders
- To document patterns of relative strengths and weaknesses
- To track changes in language and literacy skills over time
To achieve these purposes, TILLS is constructed to allow you to derive scores for identifying, tracking, and profiling a studentâ (TM)s strengths and weaknesses and interpreting the results to support decisions about what to do next.
Learn more about TILLS and explore the key benefits.
Test of Integrated Language & Literacy Skills™ and TILLS™ are trademarks of Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.
The contents of TILLS were developed under Grant No. R324A100354 from the Institute of Education Sciences of the U.S. Department of Education. However, those contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.
About the Author:
Nickola Wolf Nelson, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, BCS-CL, is Professor Emerita in the Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences and former Director of the Ph.D. program in Interdisciplinary Health Sciences at Western Michigan University. She is author of the book Language and Literacy Disorders: Infancy Through Adolescence, and first author of the Test of Integrated Language and Literacy Skills (TILLS), as well as editor-in-chief of the journal, Topics in Language Disorders. Dr. Nelson's research and publications focus on curriculum-based language and literacy assessment and intervention.
Elena Plante, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, is a Professor in the Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences at The University of Arizona in Tucson. She is a fellow both of The University of Arizona's College of Science and of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Her areas of research interest include language learning and assessment practices. She in addition to multiple journal articles on these topics, Dr. Plante is a co-author on the Pediatric Test of Brain Injury and the Test of Integrated Language and Literacy Skills. Dr. Plante has also been using neuroimaging to explore the brain bases of language and cognition for the last 2 decades. She has active national and international collaborations in the areas of neuroimaging, language, and learning.
Nancy Helm-Estabrooks, Sc.D., CCC-SLP, Brewer Smith Professor Emerita in the Department of Communication Disorders and Sciences at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, North Carolina.
She was affiliated with the Harold Goodglass Aphasia Research Center and Boston University School of Medicine for 32 years, was a Research Scientist at the National Center for Neurogenic Communication Disorders at The University of Arizona, and a Research Professor at the University of North Carolina. Dr. Helm-Estabrooks is board certified by the Academy of Neurologic Communication Disorder (ANCDS). Her awards include American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) and ANCDS Honors, and the Kleffner Lifetime Clinical Career Award. She is an ASHA Fellow and has published more than 90 peer-reviewed articles, 7 books, 21 chapters, and 6 standardized tests.
Gillian Hotz, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, is The Director of the KiDZ Neuroscience Center, Research Professor, Department of Neurosurgery, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine in Miami, Florida.
Dr. Hotz is Principal Investigator on a variety of funded research projects for acute care and rehabilitation of children with traumatic brain injury and injury prevention. She has presented at local, national, and international conferences; has published numerous papers on the topic of traumatic brain injury; and is coauthor of the Brief Test of Head Injury (with Nancy Helm-Estabrooks, PRO-ED, 1991). Dr. Hotz is a member of a number of advisory groups, including the Florida Injury Prevention Advisory Council and the Sarah Jane Brain Project/The National Pediatric Acquired Brain Injury Plan.
