The Test of Written Language, Fourth Edition (TOWL-4), is an assessment tool designed to evaluate written language skills in students aged 9-17. It measures various writing abilities, making it useful for identifying strengths and weaknesses in writing for diagnostic and educational purposes. Here’s a brief breakdown of what it assesses:
TOWL-4: Key Components
Subtests:
Vocabulary: Assesses the student’s ability to use and understand a broad range of words.
Spelling: Evaluates the student’s ability to spell words correctly.
Punctuation and Capitalization: Measures knowledge and application of grammar rules.
Logical Sentences: Tests the student’s ability to create sentences that are grammatically correct and coherent.
Sentence Combining: Assesses the ability to combine sentences in a way that’s grammatically correct and meaningful.
Contextual Conventions: Evaluates correct use of grammar, punctuation, and capitalization in a writing sample.
Story Composition: This tests overall writing abilities by creating a story and assessing organization, cohesion, and creative use of language.
Uses:
- Identify students who may have writing difficulties or disorders.
- Track the progress of writing skills over time.
- Inform individualized education plans (IEPs) or interventions.
- Assist in research related to writing and language acquisition.
Scoring:
The TOWL-4 provides standard scores, percentile ranks, age or grade equivalents for each subtest, and a composite score representing overall writing ability.
This test can be helpful in educational and clinical settings for understanding where a student may need targeted support in writing.
