18
Support Materials for Students with Special Education Needs
English K–6
Sentence level analysis
Teachers can assess aspects of a student’s sentence development using:
• average sentence length
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Average sentence length
Purpose:
Average sentence length is an indicator of sentence complexity. It is used
to compare a student’s average sentence length to what is expected for pre-school age
students or students in the early stages of schooling (using norms).
It may be used to indicate an expressive language delay and the need for further analysis
(ie for sentence complexity and grammar/syntax). A low average sentence length is likely
to indicate that a student is using incomplete and/or simple sentences only.
Note:
Students typically use sentences of five or more words by the time
they start school, and are working towards about 10 words per sentence.
Norms are only provided to eight years of age.
Students gradually increase the complexity of sentences they use. For students of school age,
an assessment of sentence complexity provides useful information about the sentence
structures being used by a student.
Instructions
Step 1:
Using the
• record the
total number of sentences
• add and record the
total number of words
• calculate the student’s average sentence length (ie average number of words per
sentence/utterance)
Average sentence length = Total number of words
Total number of sentences
Note:
Count contractions (for example she’s, don’t) as two words and
exclude repetitions and fillers (for example um, er).
Step 2:
Compare the student’s average sentence length to their peers or use the following norms.
Norms
(Gruenewald & Pollak, 1990 cited in Howell, Fox & Morehead, 1993)
A general rule of thumb is that students should be producing sentences on average ‘as long as
they are old’, if not longer.
Average sentence length
Age
2 to 3.5 words
2–3 years
4 to 6 words
4–5 years
6 to 7 words
6 years
7 to 8 words
7–8 years
Speaking and listening
ASSESSMENT
