SLP ETS 5331 SAMPLE TEST QUESTIONS
Which of the following is the major physical or organic factor underlying impairment in
the speech of persons with cleft palate?
(A) Congenital hearing loss from otitis media
(B) Broad irregular maxillary arch
(C) Palatopharyngeal insufficiency
(D) Irregular vocal fold abduction - Answers :The correct answer is (C).
Palatopharyngeal insufficiency or, more specifically, velopharyngeal insufficiency is the
major cause of the hypernasal speech associated with cleft palate. (A), (B), and (D) are
incorrect because otitis media is not congenital; in cleft palate, the maxillary arch is
often collapsed and thus is narrow; and irregular vocal fold abduction is not associated
with cleft palate.
An SLP is providing services to adults with neurogenic disorders of communication. Of
the following clients, which will likely have the most favorable management prognosis?
(A) John, who has a brain injury resulting in a slight concussion
(B) Jim, who has a traumatic brain injury resulting in paralysis
(C) Juan, who has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
(D) Helen, who has Huntington's chorea - Answers :The correct answer is (A). The
disorder is most limited in scope among those mentioned and, therefore, most likely to
be amenable to therapy or treatment. (B) is incorrect because the problem described is
diffused or dispersed throughout the head with major impairments to the nerves. (C)
and (D) are incorrect because the disorders mentioned are progressive in nature.
An SLP has targeted the phonological process of "stopping of initial fricatives" for
remediation and is using the word "shoes" to establish the new behavior. The SLP now
wishes to investigate whether the speaker can generalize the newly learned pattern to
untrained words. If it is assumed that generalization will occur on words whose phonetic
characteristics are most like the trained word "shoes," which of the following words
should be selected?
(A) Shouting
(B) Fished
(C) Ocean
(D) Shook - Answers :The correct answer is (D). Generalization probes are a principle
feature of phonological therapy. The answer choices require the clinician to pay
attention to the position of the fricative sound in a word and also the word's syllable
structure. (A), (B), and (C) are incorrect because both the fricative sound and syllable
structure are incorrect.
The Spanish-speaking parents of a nine-year- old bilingual child report that their child
communicates in Spanish with complete utterances and has a good vocabulary in
, comparison to other children in the neighborhood. Their concern is that the child
interrupts their conversations and has not learned social rules that are important within
the family and community. Testing confirms similar problems in English-speaking
settings. The SLP would most likely recommend that therapy focus on which of the
following language areas?
(A) Syntax
(B) Morphology
(C) Semantics
(D) Pragmatics - Answers :The correct answer is (D). The parents have described
adequate syntactic and semantic knowledge by the child. Testing in English confirms
similar strengths. The area that has been identified as a weakness is pragmatics and
social rules for interaction.
An SLP determines the mean length of utterance (MLU) of a language sample from a
three-year-old child. Two weeks later, the SLP reevaluates the same sample and again
determines the MLU. The extent to which the two scores are similar is most directly a
function of the
(A) validity of the scores
(B) reliability of the scores
(C) skewness of the score distribution
(D) speededness of the measure - Answers :The correct answer is (B). Reliability is the
consistency with which a test measures or the degree to which repeated measurement
with the same instrument of the same individual would tend to produce the same result.
Larger values indicate greater reliability; a reliability of 0.90 or greater is desirable for a
test to be used in making decisions about individuals. (A) is incorrect because validity
refers to how well a test measures what it is purported to measure. (C) is incorrect
because skewness refers to the symmetry of the data. (D) is incorrect because
speededness refers to the time it takes to complete the test.
A 60-year-old man has Parkinson's disease and is in the early stage of dementia. It
would be appropriate to address which of the following goals first in therapy?
(A) To educate the family or caregivers
(B) To decrease jargon
(C) To decrease circumlocution
(D) To improve motor skills - Answers :The correct answer is (A). When dementia is
associated with Parkinson's disease, it is usually irreversible. Therefore, the family or
caregivers must understand the nature of the linguistic and intellectual problems, and
learn how to maximize the abilities of the client. The sooner the family or caregivers are
made aware of the condition of the client, the better the intervention is likely to be. (B),
(C), and (D) are incorrect because although all are appropriate goals, they would not be
the first goal in therapy.
Which of the following is the major physical or organic factor underlying impairment in
the speech of persons with cleft palate?
(A) Congenital hearing loss from otitis media
(B) Broad irregular maxillary arch
(C) Palatopharyngeal insufficiency
(D) Irregular vocal fold abduction - Answers :The correct answer is (C).
Palatopharyngeal insufficiency or, more specifically, velopharyngeal insufficiency is the
major cause of the hypernasal speech associated with cleft palate. (A), (B), and (D) are
incorrect because otitis media is not congenital; in cleft palate, the maxillary arch is
often collapsed and thus is narrow; and irregular vocal fold abduction is not associated
with cleft palate.
An SLP is providing services to adults with neurogenic disorders of communication. Of
the following clients, which will likely have the most favorable management prognosis?
(A) John, who has a brain injury resulting in a slight concussion
(B) Jim, who has a traumatic brain injury resulting in paralysis
(C) Juan, who has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
(D) Helen, who has Huntington's chorea - Answers :The correct answer is (A). The
disorder is most limited in scope among those mentioned and, therefore, most likely to
be amenable to therapy or treatment. (B) is incorrect because the problem described is
diffused or dispersed throughout the head with major impairments to the nerves. (C)
and (D) are incorrect because the disorders mentioned are progressive in nature.
An SLP has targeted the phonological process of "stopping of initial fricatives" for
remediation and is using the word "shoes" to establish the new behavior. The SLP now
wishes to investigate whether the speaker can generalize the newly learned pattern to
untrained words. If it is assumed that generalization will occur on words whose phonetic
characteristics are most like the trained word "shoes," which of the following words
should be selected?
(A) Shouting
(B) Fished
(C) Ocean
(D) Shook - Answers :The correct answer is (D). Generalization probes are a principle
feature of phonological therapy. The answer choices require the clinician to pay
attention to the position of the fricative sound in a word and also the word's syllable
structure. (A), (B), and (C) are incorrect because both the fricative sound and syllable
structure are incorrect.
The Spanish-speaking parents of a nine-year- old bilingual child report that their child
communicates in Spanish with complete utterances and has a good vocabulary in
, comparison to other children in the neighborhood. Their concern is that the child
interrupts their conversations and has not learned social rules that are important within
the family and community. Testing confirms similar problems in English-speaking
settings. The SLP would most likely recommend that therapy focus on which of the
following language areas?
(A) Syntax
(B) Morphology
(C) Semantics
(D) Pragmatics - Answers :The correct answer is (D). The parents have described
adequate syntactic and semantic knowledge by the child. Testing in English confirms
similar strengths. The area that has been identified as a weakness is pragmatics and
social rules for interaction.
An SLP determines the mean length of utterance (MLU) of a language sample from a
three-year-old child. Two weeks later, the SLP reevaluates the same sample and again
determines the MLU. The extent to which the two scores are similar is most directly a
function of the
(A) validity of the scores
(B) reliability of the scores
(C) skewness of the score distribution
(D) speededness of the measure - Answers :The correct answer is (B). Reliability is the
consistency with which a test measures or the degree to which repeated measurement
with the same instrument of the same individual would tend to produce the same result.
Larger values indicate greater reliability; a reliability of 0.90 or greater is desirable for a
test to be used in making decisions about individuals. (A) is incorrect because validity
refers to how well a test measures what it is purported to measure. (C) is incorrect
because skewness refers to the symmetry of the data. (D) is incorrect because
speededness refers to the time it takes to complete the test.
A 60-year-old man has Parkinson's disease and is in the early stage of dementia. It
would be appropriate to address which of the following goals first in therapy?
(A) To educate the family or caregivers
(B) To decrease jargon
(C) To decrease circumlocution
(D) To improve motor skills - Answers :The correct answer is (A). When dementia is
associated with Parkinson's disease, it is usually irreversible. Therefore, the family or
caregivers must understand the nature of the linguistic and intellectual problems, and
learn how to maximize the abilities of the client. The sooner the family or caregivers are
made aware of the condition of the client, the better the intervention is likely to be. (B),
(C), and (D) are incorrect because although all are appropriate goals, they would not be
the first goal in therapy.
