Speech & language · Pearson
PLS-5 Age Calculator
Chronological age in years;months.days for the Preschool Language Scales, Fifth Edition, with the published age range Birth – 7:11 checked for you.
PLS-5 at a glance
| Full name | Preschool Language Scales, Fifth Edition |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Pearson |
| Published age range | Birth – 7:11 |
| Age format | Years;months.days |
| Corrected age | Corrected age is commonly used for children born preterm until the second birthday. Document which age was used for scoring — chronological or corrected — because it changes the standard score. |
| Discipline | Speech & language |
The PLS-5 assesses auditory comprehension and expressive communication from birth, making it a staple of early-intervention evaluation. It is one of the instruments where prematurity correction most often changes the eligibility decision.
How the PLS-5 wants the age entered
Enter the exact chronological age in years;months.days. Below age 1 the norm intervals are only a month or two wide, so the day component genuinely matters.
The underlying calculation is the same for every instrument — complete years, complete months, then the leftover days. What differs is which part of it goes on the form. The calculator above reports all four figures at once, so you can copy the one the PLS-5 manual asks for without recalculating:
- Years;months.days — the full record-form format, e.g. 1;6.20
- Years;months — complete units only, e.g. 1;6
- Complete months — e.g. 18 months
- Rounded to nearest month — e.g. 19 months (1;7), using the 15-day threshold
The exact date arithmetic, including month-end clamping and leap-day handling, is documented in the calculation methodology.
Worked example
A child born February 26, 2025 and assessed on September 15, 2026:
- Chronological age: 1 year, 6 months, 20 days
- Record on the PLS-5 as: 1;6.20
- Day remainder: 20 days — 15 or more, so a nearest-month rounding rounds up
Enter these exact dates above to reproduce the result. Every figure on this page is computed by the same library that runs the calculator, so the worked example and the tool can never disagree.
Corrected age and the PLS-5
Corrected age is commonly used for children born preterm until the second birthday. Document which age was used for scoring — chronological or corrected — because it changes the standard score.
Corrected (adjusted) age is measured from the due date rather than the birth date. Switch the calculator above to Born preterm and enter the gestational age at birth to see both figures side by side. The dedicated adjusted age calculator adds gestational and postmenstrual age, and the corrected age guide explains the convention for families.
Other instruments
Same calculation, different recording format. These are the instruments most often administered alongside the PLS-5:
| Instrument | Age range | Age format |
|---|---|---|
| CELF-5 | 5:0 – 21:11 | Years;months.days |
| CELF Preschool-3 | 3:0 – 6:11 | Years;months.days |
| PPVT-5 | 2:6 – 90:0 and older | Years;months.days |
| EVT-3 | 2:6 – 90:0 and older | Years;months.days |
| GFTA-3 | 2:0 – 21:11 | Years;months.days |
| KLPA-3 | 2:0 – 21:11 | Years;months.days |
The full list is on the assessment instrument reference, and the assessment age calculator covers any instrument not listed individually.
PLS-5, Pearson are trademarks of their respective owners. AgeCalc is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any of them. Brand names are used descriptively to identify the assessment formats this calculator supports.