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Articulation/phonologyKLPA-3Ages 2;0–21;11

Khan-Lewis Phonological Analysis, Third Edition

KLPA-3 is the phonological process analysis tool co-normed with GFTA-3, scoring the same word list for ten common phonological processes from a single administration.

At a glance

Publisher
Pearson Clinical
Edition year
2015
Age range
2;0–21;11
Domain
Articulation/phonology
Administration time
Co-administered with GFTA-3

Standard scores for this battery use a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15 unless noted otherwise in the publisher manual. Always cross-reference against the current edition of the manual before clinical use — publishers update norms and scoring tables on regular cycles.

What KLPA-3 is

The Khan-Lewis Phonological Analysis, Third Edition is the companion phonological process analysis to the Goldman-Fristoe Test of Articulation. Where GFTA-3 produces an articulation accuracy score, KLPA-3 takes the same recorded productions and re-scores them to identify which phonological processes the child is using and at what frequency. The tool yields a standard score with a mean of 100 and an SD of 15, plus a Core Process Score and individual percentage-of-occurrence values for ten common processes including stopping, fronting, cluster reduction, and final consonant deletion. KLPA-3 is the standard route into phonological intervention planning from a structured assessment.

Subtests and structure

  • Process analysis from the GFTA-3 Sounds in Words protocol
  • Core Process Score (composite of ten processes)
  • Individual process percentages: stopping, fronting, cluster reduction, final consonant deletion, weak syllable deletion, gliding, vocalisation, deaffrication, palatal fronting, depalatalisation

What KLPA-3 measures

KLPA-3 measures the frequency and pattern of phonological process use across the same single-word elicitations that drive GFTA-3 articulation scoring. The Core Process Score reflects how many of the target processes the child produces above the age-typical rate. Individual process percentages identify which specific patterns are clinically meaningful — for example, persistent fronting at age five, or consistent cluster reduction past age six. The tool does not measure phonological awareness, working memory, or the connected-speech variability of process use, which are different constructs requiring different assessments.

Strengths and limitations

Strengths

  • Single administration produces both articulation and phonological process scores
  • Standard scoring lets clinicians defend phonological process diagnosis in IEP committees
  • Process menu covers the ten most clinically frequent patterns in pediatric phonology
  • Familiar protocol for school SLPs already using GFTA-3

Limitations

  • Does not capture process use in connected speech, which may differ from single-word performance
  • Tied to the GFTA-3 word list, which limits the elicitation contexts for some target sounds
  • Process count is limited to ten — does not score atypical or idiosyncratic processes outside the menu
  • Age-typicality cut-offs differ across other phonological references and require careful cross-checking

How language sample analysis complements KLPA-3

KLPA-3 captures phonological processes in single-word picture naming; a connected-speech sample captures whether those same processes appear in conversation, where rate, prosody, and lexical familiarity all change the picture. A child who reduces clusters consistently in single words on KLPA-3 may produce intact clusters in high-frequency conversational phrases, and vice versa — the disconnect is itself diagnostic. Score the language sample for percent consonants correct, then go back through the recording and count the same ten KLPA-3 processes in connected speech. The combination clarifies whether the structured-task pattern is the child's actual phonological system or an artefact of the elicitation context, and it gives goal-writing better grounding in functional speech.

“When KLPA-3 says cluster reduction is gone but the kindergarten teacher says the child is unintelligible, listen to the recording yourself before believing the score. Conversation is where phonology lives.”
Believe the recording, not the score

Free tools that pair with KLPA-3

Phonological Process Identifier

Free interactive phonological process identifier for speech-language pathologists. Enter a target word and the child production and the calculator flags every matching process from the twelve most common English patterns (cluster reduction, fronting, stopping, gliding, vocalisation, weak syllable deletion, final consonant deletion, deaffrication, denasalisation, prevocalic voicing, devoicing, initial consonant deletion), each tagged with its Bowen (2015) age of suppression so you can see whether the production is age-expected or persistent. Mobile-friendly, client-side, no sign-up.

Open tool

PCC Calculator

Free interactive Percent Consonants Correct (PCC) calculator for speech-language pathologists. Enter the consonants attempted and produced correctly from a 50- to 100-utterance connected-speech sample and get the PCC percent plus the Shriberg & Kwiatkowski (1982) severity band (mild, mild-moderate, moderate-severe, severe). Built for SLP intake, IEP eligibility, treatment-progress tracking, and graduate phonological-assessment training. Mobile-friendly, client-side, no sign-up.

Open tool

Speech Sound Development Chart

Free interactive speech sound development chart for speech-language pathologists. Look up the age of acquisition for the 24 English consonants based on the McLeod & Crowe (2018) cross-linguistic systematic review. Filter by age band and word position (initial, medial, final), enter a child age and instantly see which sounds are age-expected versus still developing. Mobile-friendly, client-side, no sign-up.

Open tool

Related assessments

Articulation/phonology · GFTA-3

Goldman-Fristoe Test of Articulation, Third Edition

GFTA-3 is the most widely used standardized articulation test in U.S. SLP practice, eliciting target consonants in initial, medial, and final word positions through picture naming.

Phonological processing · CTOPP-2

Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing, Second Edition

CTOPP-2 is the standard assessment of phonological awareness, phonological memory, and rapid naming, used heavily in dyslexia identification and reading-disability evaluation.

References

  1. Khan, L. M. L., & Lewis, N. P. (2015). Khan-Lewis Phonological Analysis, Third Edition. Pearson Clinical.
  2. Goldman, R., & Fristoe, M. (2015). Goldman-Fristoe Test of Articulation, Third Edition. Pearson Clinical.
  3. Stoel-Gammon, C., & Dunn, C. (1985). Normal and Disordered Phonology in Children. University Park Press.