DELV™ Research – Ventris Learning

Presentation to the Second Annual Advancing African American Linguistics Symposium

Expanded version of the presentation made at the UC Santa Barbara Department of Linguistics/UC-HBCU/NSF REU Talking College SECOND ANNUAL ADVANCING AFRICAN AMERICAN LINGUIST(IC)S SYMPOSIUM: Low-Income African American Mothers’ Language to Their Preschool Children in Play: Amount, Variation, and Dialect. Peter A. De Villiers, Ph.D., Smith College.

PdeV UCSB Presentation

DELV Re-Norming Study

Ventris Learning, in collaboration with university faculty, linguists, and practicing speech-language pathologists, is engaged in a multi-year project to update the Diagnostic Evaluation of Language Variation (DELV), a standardized and linguistically unbiased measure of language ability. The revised DELV is scheduled to be released in early 2028. Updates will include:

New norms covering ages 4;0 through 9;11, with plans to extend the norms into middle and high school ages in future years.
Scoring based on Item Response Theory, as opposed to Classical Test Theory (the original test norming method).
New measures of reliability and validity to strengthen diagnostic accuracy.
A new parent/caregiver interview questionnaire to gather relevant information on a child’s history and English-language exposure.
A revised DELV-ST Part 2, allowing for more accurate screening of language variation.
Expansion of the normative population to include speakers of several Caribbean English Creoles, Gullah Geechee language and Latine/Latino English. In addition to writing consideration sections for the Examiner Manual, language experts in each of these linguistic areas will record videos created to help SLPs better understand language variation.
Future examiners will have access to video language samples for the above varieties of English, as well as scoring guidelines that take into account these varieties’ unique characteristics.
Enhanced user-friendliness of testing materials and improved examiner directions based on useful feedback from clinicians and reviewers.
Updated items and associated artwork that reflect modern styles, avoid stereotypes, and minimize negative impact on sensitive test takers.
An online scoring tool to save time and provide comprehensive diagnostic insights useful for goal-setting and intervention.

The resulting next generation DELV tests will be even more useful to SLPs in accurately identifying language disorders/delays in children ages 4.0-9.11.