iPad Screenshot 1

What we love…

bright colors, engages children and provides standardized testing for typically and non-typically developing children

What we’d love to see…

Removal of multiple reports – at times we noticed it would save a report multiple times


The CCELS is a good app for determining if a child needs to be screened further for academic and/or language issues. This would be a convenient way to screen a large, typical classroom to determine age appropriateness of skills.



Common Core Early Language ScreenerCommon Core Early Language Screener (CCELS) by Smarty Ears is a screening tool used to identify weakness in early language skills.  This app was designed for use with preschool and Kindergarten aged children based on common core learning standards, however, the app can be used for other groups as needed.   This app was tested by a preschool based SLP and a special needs preschool classroom targeting children age 3 to age 5.  This app is primarily designed for use by speech therapists and special education teachers and allows you to customize your school name, name of the evaluator and credentials which are displayed on reports pulled from the app.  The reports can either be saved as a text file or a PDF meaning that it makes for an easy export of reports.  The app can be used directly on the iPad or forms can also be printed for use when doing the screenings depending on the therapists preferences.

The app provides a comprehensive and standardized screening for early language skills meaning that each child is tested on the same skills no matter who is administering the testing.  In addition, the app can help to determine strengths and weaknesses in language development as well as provide a progress measure for the child which can be helpful when writing goals for an special education plan or during speech therapy.  It also provides data which can screen language skills to determine if additional testing is necessary for the particular student or child.  It is a good app to use to screen a large, typically developing child classroom to determine the age appropriateness of skills.   I liked the ability to save and share the report with others which was important when tracking progress over time as well as the ability to use the app as 100% on the iPad as well as being able to print out documents and use them in tandem with the app.

In terms of improvements, at times when a child’s report was saved it would show up multiple times (sometimes as many as four times).

Skills assessed in the app include:

1. Answering basic personal question,
2. Identifying actions
3. Labeling pictures
4. Color Identification
5. Shape identification
6. Counting
7. Number identification
8. Alphabet identification
9. Alphabet labeling
10. Blending syllables & phonemes
11. Phonemes segmentation
12. Word recognition
13. Identification of capitalizations and punctuations
14. Rhyming
15. Pronouns identification
16. Prepositions
17. Categories
18. Comparative vocabulary
19. Pattern identification
20. Repetition of phrases and numbers
21. Following directions
22. Answering questions about short stories
23. Expressive speech and language skills

Common Core Early Language Screener
Common Core Early Language Screener
by Smarty Ears

Category: Education, Medical
Size: 30.68 MB


Screenshots for iPad
(Click to enlarge)


[yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sK5kYd6Zg28′]

This review was written by Tracey who is a school based Speech Language Pathologist primarily working with preschool and elementary aged students.



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