SpLD Assessment Standards Committee

The Comprehensive Test of Phonological Process version 2 (CTOPP-2) assesses three components of phonological ability- phonological awareness, phonological memory and phonological access in long-term memory. There are two age-related versions of the test: one developed for children in the five-to six-year age range and the other developed for use with older individuals aged seven to 24. years.

Professor Wagner and his colleague Professor Torgesens' research has been fundamental in our understanding of the importance of capturing the extent of the dyslexic person's phonological deficit, in diagnosing dyslexia. Their large scale concurrent and longitudinal studies of reading development demonstrated the importance of three clear aspects of phonological subgroups which are vital in developing the ability to read. Their research demonstrated the essential importance of phonological awareness in hearing and manipulating the speech sound of letters in words, the importance of phonological processing subskill of rapid automatised naming, which assess the speed and efficiency a person retrieves phonological representations from long-term memory.

Finally, the role that phonological memory has in the coding of information as speech sound representation for temporary storage in short-term working memory were all proven to be vital in any diagnostic model or understanding of dyslexia. To assess for dyslexia the assessor must capture the learner's phonological deficits. The results of their studies can be demonstrated in the Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing 2 (CTOPP 2). The CTOPP 2 was normed on 1900 individuals across the USA, according to a stratified sampling procedure that ensures that it represents the population as a whole. This webinar enables the participant to make sure they are effectively using the CTOPP 2 and they have an opportunity to have attend a workshop with Professor Wagner where they can ask questions regarding an assessors professional practice.