Test of Adolescent/Adult Word Finding, 2E-TAWF-2

Ages: 12 through 80 (Grade 7 and higher)
Testing Time: 20 to 30 minutes
Administration: Individual

The Test of Adolescent/Adult Word Finding- Second Edition is a norm-referenced, single-word expressive language test expressly designed to assess the word-finding ability of adolescents and adults. It can be used to identify individuals who have word-finding problems, plan word finding intervention, and measure word finding ability in research studies.

Features of the TAWF-2

All new normative data were collected in 2009-2013
New noun and verb target words have been added
Contains both the 80-item Complete Test and the 28-item Brief Test for use with examinees or in situations where the Complete Test is not feasible
Studies showing the absence of racial and gender bias are reported
Information pertaining to the TAWF-2's diagnostic accuracy (sensitivity, specificity, and ROC/AUC) is provided
The lexical processing model underlying TAWF-2 has been updated to reflect current thinking regarding word retrieval
The Comprehension Check functions as a built-in assessment of examinees' word knowledge
Adolescents and adults with diagnosed word finding difficulties were included in the norming sample
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: Word Groups- assesses efficiency in naming nouns in semantic and phonemic word groups
The standardized assessment has ample evidence of reliability and validity:

The internal consistency (content sampling) reliability coefficient for the Complete Test = .88.
The test-retest (time sampling) coefficient for the Word Finding Index = .95 for the Complete Test.
The average correlation of the Word Finding Index with those of other well-known expressive language tests is large in magnitude.
Diagnostic accuracy studies indicate that the TAWF-2 is able to accurately identify students with word finding difficulties (i.e., sensitivity = .93, specificity = .82, ROC/AUC = .94, 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 individuals make. The remaining informal analyses (the Delayed Response Procedure and the Secondary Characteristics Tally) contribute to interpreting the Word Finding Index.

Complete TAWF-2 kit includes: Examiner's Manual, Word Finding Assessment Picture Book, Comprehension Check Picture Book, and 25 Examiner Record Forms, all in a sturdy storage box. (2016)