The Test of Word Finding, now in its third edition, is a norm-referenced, single-word expressive language test expressly designed to assess children's word-finding ability. It can be used to identify students who have word-finding problems, plan word finding intervention, and measure word finding ability in research studies.

Features of the TWF-3

All new normative data were collected in 2009-2012
New noun and verb target words have been added
Studies showing the absence of racial and gender bias are reported
Information pertaining to the TWF-3's diagnostic accuracy ( sensitivity, specificity, and ROC/AUC) is provided
The lexical processing model underlying TWF-3 has been updated to reflect current thinking regarding word retrieval
The Comprehension Check functions as a built-in assessment of examinees' word knowledge
Students with diagnosed word finding difficulties were included in the norming sample
Three age- and grade-appropriate forms are included: the Preprimary form for preschool and kindergarten students; the Primary form for students in Grades 1 and 2; and the Intermediate form for students in Grades 3 through 6.
The standardized assessment and informal analyses are integral features of comprehensive word finding assessments

The Standardized Assessment

The standardized assessment has four naming sections, the results of which are combined to form the overall Word Finding Index:

Picture Naming: Nouns- assesses efficiency in naming compound and 1 to 4 syllable target words
Sentence Completion Naming- assesses efficiency in naming words to complete sentences read aloud by the examiner
Picture Naming: Verbs- assesses efficiency in naming present and past-tense regular and irregular verbs
Picture Naming: Categories- assesses efficiency in naming objects and the categories to which they belong

The standardized assessment has ample evidence of reliability and validity:

The average internal consistency (content sampling) reliability coefficients for all forms exceed .85.
The average test-retest (time sampling) coefficients for the Word Finding Index exceed .80.
Correlations of the Word Finding Index with those of other well-known expressive language tests are large or very large in magnitude.
Diagnostic accuracy studies indicate that the TWF-3 is able to accurately identify students with word finding difficulties (i.e., sensitivity = .86, specificity = .78, ROC/AUC = .88, cut score = 90).
Considerable other validity evidence is provided in the manual.

The Informal Assessment

Five informal analyses are also provided. Three of these analyses (the Phonemic Cueing Procedure, the Imitation Procedure, and the Substitution Analysis) examine types of word finding errors students make. The remaining informal analyses (the Delayed Response Procedure and the Secondary Characteristics Tally) contribute to interpreting the Word Finding Index.

Complete TWF-3 kit includes: Examiner's Manual, Word Finding Assessment Picture Book, Comprehension Check Picture Book, 10 Preprimary Examiner Record Forms, 10 Primary Examiner Record Forms, and 10 Intermediate Examiner Record Forms, all in a sturdy storage box. (©2015)