Evaluating the Equivalence of Telepractice and Traditional Administration of the Test of Integrated Language and Literacy Skills

Abstract

Purpose: This study evaluated the equivalence of the Test of Integrated Language and Literacy Skills (TILLS) when administrated via telepractice (TeleTILLS) and face-to-face methods. Method: Participants were 51 children and adolescents in three age bands, ages 6–7 years (n = 9), 8–11 years (n = 21), and 12–18 years (n = 21). Data were gathered by 25 volunteer examiners who assessed the same participants twice within a 2-to 4-week period, using Tele-TILLS and traditional methods in randomly selected, counterbalanced order. Results: Evaluation of identification equivalence showed 96% agreement between methods (49 of 51 decisions), with 39 agreements of no disorder, 10 agreements of yes disorder, and two disagreements (yes disorder for TeleTILLS and no disorder for traditional). Partial correlations, controlled for test order, showed moderate to high agreement between all composite and subtest scores, except Nonword Repetition. Scoring by examiners and the first author showed high interrater agreement. No differences between Nonword Repetition scores were found for students who wore headsets (n = 12), whereas differences were found for those who did not (n = 34). Conclusions: This study provided preliminary evidence that Tele-TILLS results can be equivalent to traditional TILLS, supporting its validity for identifying language/literacy disorder and interpreting profiles. The small, highly homogeneous sample with well-educated parents limits generalizability to the broader population. Caution is warranted when testing 6-to 7-year-old students for whom Nonword Repetition is part of the Identification Core score. Suggestions are provided for optimizing technological setup, preparing facilitators, and making minor modifications in subtest administration.