Monitoring Indicators of Scholarly Language - A Progress-Monitoring Instrument for Measuring Narrative Discourse Skills

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by jay

This study evaluates the basic psychometric properties of Monitoring Indicators of Scholarly Language (MISL), a progress-monitoring tool targeting narrative discourse skills in school-age children with language impairments. A sample of 109 children ages 5 years 7 months to 9 years 9 months completed the Test of Narrative Language (TNL). Narratives from an alien picture prompt were transcribed and scored using TNL criteria and MISL scoring rules. MISL total scores showed acceptable internal consistency, inter-rater reliability, and construct validity, supporting its use to track growth in narrative language proficiency aligned with literacy standards.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages11

Reading Time28 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Measuring Key Components of Narrative Discourse

Macrostructure and microstructure components

Setting and episode elements

Monitoring Indicators of Scholarly Language: A Progress-Monitoring Instrument for Measuring Narrative Discourse Skills Sandra Laing Gillam, PhD 1, Ronald B. Gillam, PhD 1, Jamison D. Fargo, PhD 1, Abbie Olszewski, PhD2, and Hugo Segura, MsC-SLP3 Communication Disorders Quarterly 2017, Vol. 38(2) 96–106 © Hammill Institute on Disabilities 2016 Reprints and permissions: [sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav](sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav)[ ](sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav)[DOI: 10.1177/1525740116651442](DOI: 10.1177/1525740116651442)[ ](DOI: 10.1177/1525740116651442)[journals.sagepub.com/home/cdq](journals.sagepub.com/home/cdq) Abstract The purpose of this study was to assess the basic psychometric properties of a progress-monitoring tool designed to measure narrative discourse skills in school-age children with language impairments (LI). A sample of 109 children with LI between the ages of 5 years 7 months and 9 years 9 months completed the Test of Narrative Language (TNL). The stories told in response to the alien picture prompt were transcribed and scored according to the TNL manual criteria and the criteria established for scoring the progress-monitoring tool, Monitoring Indicators of Scholarly Language (MISL). The MISL total score demonstrated acceptable levels of internal consistency reliability, inter-rater reliability, and construct validity for use as a progress-monitoring tool for specific aspects of narrative proficiency. The MISL holds promise as a tool for tracking growth in narrative language proficiency that may be taught as part of an intervention program to support the Common Core Standards related to literacy. Keywords assessment, narrative(s), literacy, speech-language pathologists (SLPs), elementary school, age, language Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are increasingly being called upon to provide evidence that their intervention efforts result in positive educational outcomes for students in school-based settings (American SpeechLanguage-Hearing Association [ASHA], 2000) . This involves the provision of educationally relevant instruction and authentic documentation of student outcomes through a process called progress-monitoring (S. Gillam & Gillam, 2006; S. Gillam & Justice, 2010) . The information obtained through progress-monitoring is used to inform clinical decisions about methods and procedures, dosage, service delivery, and to communicate accurate and consistent information about a child’s progress to others (D. Paul & Hasselkus, 2004; Sutherland Cornett, 2006; Warren, Fey, & Yoder, 2007) . Ideally, these tools should possess some basic psychometric properties such as inter-rater reliability, internal consistency reliability, and construct validity if SLPs are to have some degree of confidence in their ability to capture differences in performance as a result of intervention (American Institutes for Research, 2015a) . One of the roles and responsibilities ofSLPs employed in educational settings is to design and implement intervention programs that target the language underpinnings that are foundational to curricular content related to literacy development. Then, they should monitor how well students respond to the instruction (ASHA, 2001; Ehren & Whitmire, 2009) . According to Common Core State Standards (CCSS-ELA.Literacy.W.3.3), school-age children must be able to “compose narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well chosen details, and well-structured event sequences”(CCSS; National Governors Association and Council of Chief State School Officers, 2011) . Component language skills that may be taught in support of this overarching discourse-level goal may include teaching students to “ask and answer questions about key details in text (CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.1.1),” “retell stories including key details (CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.1.2),” and to“describe the overall structure of a story, including how the beginning introduces th

FAQs

What does the MISL progress-monitoring tool measure?

MISL measures narrative discourse skills, focusing on specific aspects of narrative proficiency in school-age children with language impairments.

How were participants’ narratives scored in the study?

Stories elicited from an alien picture prompt were transcribed and scored using the TNL manual criteria and the MISL progress-monitoring tool scoring criteria.

What psychometric qualities did MISL demonstrate?

MISL total scores demonstrated acceptable internal consistency reliability, inter-rater reliability, and construct validity for use as a progress-monitoring tool.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by jay