BEYOND SCORES: HOW MY SPEECH-LANGUAGE EVALUATIONS FOCUS ON KIDS, NOT NUMBERS
Real Communication > Numbers on a Page
If you’ve ever read a speech-language evaluation report and wondered, ‘Where are the test scores?,’ you’re not alone.
As a pediatric speech-language pathologist, I’m often asked why my evaluation reports don’t list standardized scores, percentiles, or age equivalents. Here’s the short answer: standardized scores don’t tell me what I actually need to know to support your child.
Instead, my evaluations focus on real communication skills in everyday life including how your child expresses needs, interacts with peers, solves problems, and uses language to participate in daily routines. That’s the information that truly drives therapy decisions and helps children grow.
Are Standardized Tests Used in Speech Evaluations?
Yes. Standardized assessments may be administered as part of a comprehensive speech and language evaluation. Here’s what many parents aren’t told: standardized test scores are only a snapshot. They do not reflect how a child communicates in real life, across real environments, with real people. Especially for toddlers and preschoolers, test scores alone are not a reliable indicator of true communication ability.
Why Standardized Test Scores Can Be Misleading for Children
Standardized speech and language tests are conducted in controlled settings and often fail to capture:
Functional communication skills
Spontaneous language during play
Social language and peer interaction
Emotional regulation and attention
Word-finding and language processing
Communication breakdowns in daily routines
A child may score “within normal limits” and still struggle significantly at home or school. Another child may score “below average” but function well with minimal support.
That’s why numbers alone don’t drive therapy decisions in my practice.
Young Children Don’t Perform Consistently on Standardized Tests
For young children, speech and language test scores can vary widely due to:
Fatigue or anxiety
Limited attention span
Unfamiliar testing environments
Neurodivergent learning styles
Cultural and linguistic differences
Yet once a score is written into a report, it often follows a child for years, sometimes being used to deny services or delay support. That’s not something I’m willing to risk.
What My Speech Evaluation Reports Focus On Instead
Rather than emphasizing test scores, my speech-language evaluation reports prioritize functional, meaningful data, including:
Expressive language skills
Receptive language comprehension
Pragmatic and social communication
Play-based language use
Strengths and areas of need
How communication impacts daily life
Clear, individualized therapy recommendations
This approach gives parents, teachers, and providers information they can actually use.
Speech Therapy Is About Function, Not Percentiles
Speech therapy isn’t about where a child falls on a bell curve.
It’s about whether a child can:
Express their needs
Participate in learning
Communicate with peers
Reduce frustration
Build confidence
Those outcomes are not captured by standard scores. They are captured through clinical observation, caregiver input, and functional assessment.
Final Thoughts From Speechie Auntie
Your child is not a number. Your child is a communicator.
My role as a speech-language pathologist is to understand how your child communicates in the real world and to provide a report that supports advocacy, intervention, and growth.
That’s why I focus on function over scores and clarity over cutoffs.
If you ever have questions about a speech and language evaluation, what’s included in my reports, or how to use them to advocate for your child, I’m always happy to talk it through.
