Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test

The Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, now in its third edition (PPVT-III), is an individually administered, untimed, norm-referenced, wide-range test of listening comprehension for the spoken word in standard English. The test serves as both an achievement test of receptive vocabulary attainment for standard English [Page 749]and a screening test of verbal ability, but only when English is the language of the examinee's home, community, and school. The test is designed for use with persons aged 21/2 through 90+ years, and the average administration time is 10–15 minutes. Two types of normative scores are provided. Deviation-type norms tell you how far the individual's performance deviates from the average person of the same age group on whom the test was standardized. Developmental-type norms tell you how the individual's performance compares to others on a growth or development curve.

Two forms are available, Form IIIA and Form IIIB, that allow for reliable testing and retesting. Each form contains four training items and 204 test items. Items are grouped into 17 sets of 12 items, arranged in order of increasing difficulty. Each item contains four black-and-white illustrations arranged on a page. The examinee selects the picture that best represents the meaning of a stimulus word presented orally by the examiner. A sample item for the stimulus word carpenter could contain a picture of a carpenter with three distracter pictures of various workers such as a doctor, a chef, and a farmer.

The PPVT-III is useful with diverse populations. Reading or writing are not required from the examinee; therefore, it is useful with nonreaders and people with written-language problems. The examinee can respond orally, by pointing, or by signaling “yes” or “no” as the examiner points to each choice in turn. Because an oral, written, or point response is not required from the examinee, the test may be used with people with language impairments, and disabilities such as autism or cerebral palsy. The test can aid in the detection of language impairments, such as aphasia. The PPVT-III can be useful as a screening measure for both giftedness and mental retardation for people with English-language backgrounds. When English is a second language, the test can provide a measure of English-language proficiency. The ease of administration and high reliability at young ages makes the test useful in testing preschool children's vocabulary acquisition. The extensive adult norms make the test useful in testing adults' listening comprehension and possible vocabulary deterioration.