Report Viewer

NINDS CDE Notice of Copyright
Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test 4th Edition (PPVT-4)
Availability
Please visit this website for more information about the instrument: Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test 4th Edition
Classification
Supplemental - Highly Recommended: Cerebral Palsy (CP)
 
Supplemental: Epilepsy, Mitochondrial Disease (Mito) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).
 
Exploratory: Congenital Muscular Dystrophy (CMD), Neuromuscular Disease (NMD)
Short Description of Instrument
The Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-4 (PPVTTM-4) is a widely used measure of receptive vocabulary skills that does not require any reading or writing on the part of the subject. It was developed for individuals 2 years 6 months old through greater than 90 years old and measures listening and understanding of single-word vocabulary. (Stein et al., 2009)
There are 228 test items separated into 19 sets of 12 items each. The PPVTTM-4 has two parallel forms which can be used to measure change over time or compare performance at two time points without confound of practice effects. The test can also be used to screen patients according to their level of verbal ability. It is frequently used in research as a proxy for intellect. The test is a widely used and accepted measure of English vocabulary knowledge and as a proxy for verbal intellectual ability. The broad age range assessed by this measure lends itself well to longitudinal study and clinical follow-up.
Comments/Special Instructions
The PPVTTM-4 was released in 2007 (Dunn, 2007) and the PPVTTM-5 was released in 2019. (Dunn, 2019)
To view differences between PPVT V4 and V5, see PPVT-EVT What's Changed Flyer (pearsonassessments.com)
Scoring and Psychometric Properties
Scoring: Q-global scoring and reporting
 
Psychometric Properties: The PPVTTM-4 test provides extremely reliable scores, with all reliability and validity coefficients in the .90s range. The PPVTTM-4 is particularly useful in providing a proxy of intellectual functioning across the lifespan as a means of describing the sample characteristics.
 
Developed over a five-year period, the PPVTTM-4 test was standardized on a national sample of individuals ages 2:6-90+ years. More than 5,500 individuals were tested; data from approximately 3,500 subjects was used for the normative scores. The sample matches the U.S. Census for gender, race/ethnicity, region, socioeconomic status (SES), and clinical diagnosis or special education placement.
 
Norms: Age and grade-based standard scores are given, with mean = 100 and standard deviation = 15. Percentiles, normal curve equivalents (NCEs), stanines, age and grade equivalents, and Growth Scale Value (GSV) can also be calculated.
Rationale/Justification
Strengths: The response format allows examinees to respond by voicing a letter choice (ABC or D) or by pointing to a response on a page. This allows for flexibility in use in individuals who may have language or motor impairment. Verbal and motor output is minimized to limit fatigue. This is a relatively brief measure and is well correlated with verbal IQ making it a useful brief proxy for IQ in lengthier testing batteries. There is some evidence that it is useful for English speakers outside North America. (Haitana, et al., 2010)
 
Availability of two alternate forms allows more frequent reassessment. Previous versions of the PPVT have been translated into a variety of languages.
 
Weaknesses: Age equivalent scores show a sizable floor effect in younger children and may therefore not be useful for research purposes, though raw and standard scores appear to be more robust (Sullivan et al., 2014) The PPVT is a valid measure for receptive vocabulary but is not a valid measure of overall cognitive ability or overall language ability. (Aylward & Stancin, 2008)
References
Key Reference(s):
Dunn, D. M. (2019). Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (5th ed., PPVT-5). Bloomington, MM: NCS Pearson. PPVT-5 Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test Fifth Edition | Resources (pearsonassessments.com)
 
Dunn L & Dunn, D. Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test. Examiner's Manual (Fourth ed.) [Internet]. Pearson Assessments. 2007 [cited 2016 June 20]. Available from: http://www.pearsonclinical.com/language/products/100000501/peabody-picture-vocabulary-test-fourth-edition-ppvt-4.html.
 
Dunn, D. M. (2019). Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (5th ed., PPVT-5). Pearson.
 
Dunn L, Lugo D, Padilla E, Dunn L. Test de Vocabulario en Imagenes Peabody (TVIP) [Internet]. Pearson Assessments. 1986 [cited 2016 June 20]. Available from: http://www.pearsonclinical.com/language/products/100000487/test-de-vocabulario-en-imagenes-peabody-tvip.html.
 
Additional Reference(s):
Aylward GP & Stancin T. Chapter 7 - Screening and Assessment Tools. In: Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics. (Wolraich ML Drotar DD, Dworkin PH, Perrin EC, eds.). Mosby, 2008, pp. 123-203. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/B9780323040259500106
 
Eigsti IM. (2013) Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, Fourth Edition (PPVT). In: Volkmar, F.R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Autism Spectrum Disorders. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1698-3_531.
 
Haitana T, Pitama S, Rucklidge JJ. Cultural biases in the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-III: Testing Tamariki in a New Zealand Sample. N Z J Psychol. 2010;39(3):24-34.
 
Stein MT, Lukasik M. Chapter 79 - Developmental Screening AND Assessment: Infants, Toddlers, and Preschoolers. In: Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics (Fourth Edition) Editor(s): (Carey WB, Crocker AC, Coleman WL, Roy Elias E, Feldman HM, eds.). W.B. Saunders, 2009, Pages 785-796. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/B9781416033707000791
 
Sullivan JR, Winter SM, Sass DA, Svenkerud N. Assessing growth in young children: A comparison of raw, age-equivalent, and standard scores using the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test. J Res Child Educ. 2014;28(2):277-91.
 
Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, Fourth Edition (PVTT-4) Bibliography Available from: https://www.pearsonassessments.com/content/dam/school/global/clinical/us/assets/ppvt-4/ppvt-bibilography.pdf Accessed 21 September 2023.
 
Cerebral Palsy-Specific:
Olrick JT, Pianta RC, Marvin RS. Mothers' and fathers' responses to signals of children with cerebral palsy during feeding. J Develop Phys Disab. 2002;14(1):1-7.
 
Document last updated October 2024