The TOSS-I:NU analyzes students’ semantic skills, including labeling, categorizing, identifying attributes and functions, and defining words. The Picture Book contains 18 illustrations depicting natural, real-life scenes related to these common themes: school, learning, community, home, leisure activities, and the environment. Test items emphasize vocabulary that is meaningful and relevant to late elementary and middle school students. The test can be used to identify students with semantic skills deficits, plan interventions, and represent semantic skills in research studies.

New item-analysis and item-bias studies provide convincing evidence of content-description validity. Also, new reliability and validity studies were prepared, including diagnostic accuracy analyses, which are considered the most rigorous techniques for establishing a test’s validity. 

What’s in the Test

The TOSS-I:NU has two subtests—Receptive Language and Expressive Language—that yield scaled scores. A composite score, called the Semantic Skills Index, represents overall performance on the subtests. The subtests may also be informally analyzed by skill area. The examiner’s manual contains a comprehensive discussion of the test’s theoretical and research-based foundation, item development, standardization, administration and scoring procedures, norms tables, and guidelines for using and interpreting the test’s results.