The paper describes the development of the "Test of Thought and Language" (Total) which is intended to allow first grade teachers to determine if students are ready for phonics instruction or if, for some students, the curriculum should first develop language concepts, structures and thinking processes. Background information for the…

The monograph consists of 13 author contributed chapters arising out of a Nebraska study which attempted to quantify the performance of 150 profoundly hearing impaired students (4-20 years old) in the areas of language (receptive and expressive), academics (reading, spelling, math), and related learning (visual perception and short-term memory)…