Concurrent Validity of the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Third Edition As an Intelligence and Achievement Screener for Low SES African American Children
Restricted accessResearch articleFirst published online March, 2001
Concurrent Validity of the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Third Edition As an Intelligence and Achievement Screener for Low SES African American Children
Authors tested the validity of the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Third Edition (PPVT-III) as a screening measure for intelligence and achievement. The PPVT-III and Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (KABC) were administered to 416 African American children of low socioeconomic status in a counterbalanced design. Results indicated that the PPVT-III correlated .58 with the KABC Mental Processing Composite (MPC) score; however, participants scored significantly lower (M = 8.3 points) on the PPVT-III than on the MPC. Although receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses supported the use of the PPVT-III as a valid intellectual and achievement screener, the selection of a single cutoff score for the PPVT-IIJ was problematic. The purpose of the screening program should guide selection of a cutoff score for the PPVT-III.
American Psychiatric Association
. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
2.
Bing, S. B.
, & Bing,J. R. (1985). Comparison of the K-ABC and PPVT-R with Head Start children. Psychology in the Schools, 22, 245-249.
3.
Brigance, A.
(1992). Brigance K & 1 Screen (3rd ed.). North Billerica, MA: Curriculum Associates.
4.
Campbell, J. M.
(1998). [Review of the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, Third Edition].Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 16, 334-338.
5.
Carran, D. T.
, & Scott, K. G. (1992). Risk assessment in preschool children: Research implications for the early detection of educational handicaps. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 12, 196-211.
6.
Clark, A.
, & Harrington, R. (1999). On diagnosing rare disorders rarely: Appropriate use of screening instruments. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 40, 287-290.
7.
ColliverJ. A.
, Vu, N. V., & Barrows, H. S. (1992). Screening test length for sequential testing with a standardized-patient examination: A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. Academic Medicine, 67, 592-595.
8.
Derogatis, L. R.
, & DellaPietra, L. (1994). Psychological tests in screening for psychiatric disorder. In M. E. Maruish (Ed.), The use of psychological testing for treatment planning and outcome assessment (pp. 22-54). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
9.
Dunn, L. M.
, & Dunn, L. M. (1981). Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised. Circle Pines, MN: American Guidance Service.
10.
Dunn, L. M.
, & Dunn, L. M. (1997). Examiner's manualfor the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Third Edition. Circle Pines, MN: American Guidance Service.
11.
Flynn, J. R.
(1984). The mean IQ of Americans: Massive gains 1932 to 1978. Psychological Bulletin, 95, 29-51.
12.
Gredler, G. R.
(1997). Issues in early childhood screening and assessment. Psychology in the Schools, 34, 99-106.
13.
Hanley, J. A.
, & McNeil, B. J. (1982). The meaning and use of the area under a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Radiology, 143, 29-36.
14.
Hanley, J. A.
, & McNeil, B. J. (1983). A method of comparing the areas under receiver operating characteristic curves derived from the same cases. Radiology, 148, 839-843.
15.
Harber, J. R.
(1981). Assessing the quality of decision making in special education. The Journal of Special Education, 15, 77-90.
16.
Hart, B.
, & Risley, T. R. (1999). The social world of children learning to talk. Baltimore: Brookes.
17.
Hsiao,J. K.
, Bartko,J.J., & Potter, W. Z. (1989). Diagnosing diagnoses: Receiver operating characteristic methods and psychiatry. Archives of General Psychiatry, 46, 664-667.
18.
Kaufman, A. S.
, & Kaufman, N. L. (1983). Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children administration and scoring manual. Circle Pines, MN: American Guidance Service.
19.
Kitzman, H.
, Olds, D. L., Henderson, C. R., Hanks, C., Cole, R., Tatelbaum, R., McConnochie, K. M., Sidora, K., Luckey, D. W., Shaver, D., Engelhardt, K., James, D., & Barnard, K. (1997). Effect of prenatal and infancy home visitation by nurses on pregnancy outcomes, childhood injuries, and repeated childbearing. Journal of the American Medical Association, 278, 644-652.
20.
Lichtenberger, E. O.
, & Kaufman, A. S. (2000). The assessment of preschool children with the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children. In B. A. Bracken (Ed.), The psychoeducational assessment of preschool children (3rd ed., pp. 103-123). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
21.
Lichtenstein, R.
, & Ireton, H. (1991). Preschool screening for developmental and educational problems. In B. A. Bracken (Ed.), Psychoeducational assessment of preschool children (pp. 486-513). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
22.
Macmillan, N. A.
, & Creelman, C. D. (1991). Detection theory: A user's guide. New York: Cambridge University Press.
23.
Mantzicopoulos, P.
(1999). Reliability and validity estimates of the Brigance K&1 Screen based on a sample of disadvantaged preschoolers. Psychology in the Schools, 36, 11-19.
24.
May, D. C.
, & Kundert, D. K. (1992). Kindergarten screenings in New York state: Tests, purposes, and recommendations. Psychology in the Schools, 29, 35-41.
25.
Mcloughlin, C. S.
, & Ellison, C. L. (1984). Comparison of scores for normal preschool children on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised and the achievement scales of the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children. Psychological Reports, 55, 107-114.
26.
Metz, C. E.
(1978). Basic principles of ROC analysis. Seminars in Nuclear Medicine, 8, 283-298.
27.
Rafoth, M. A.
(1997). Guidelines for developing screening programs. Psychology in the Schools, 34, 129-137.
28.
Sattler, J. M.
, Hilson, D. E., & Covin, T. M. (1985). Comparison of Slosson Intelligence Test-Revised norms and Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised with Black Headstart children. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 60, 705-706.
29.
Satz, P.
, & Fletcher, J. M. (1988). Early identification of learning disabled children: An old problem revisited. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 56, 824-829.
30.
Somoza, E.
, Steer, R. A., Beck, A. T., & Clark, D. A. (1994). Differentiating major depression and panic disorders by self-report and clinical rating scales: ROC analysis and information theory. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 32, 771-782.
31.
Swets, J. A.
(1988). Measuring the accuracy of diagnostic systems. Science, 240, 1285-1293.
32.
SwetsJ. A.
(1992). The science of choosing the right decision threshold in high-stakes diagnostics. American Psychologist, 47, 522-532.
33.
Washington, J. A.
, & Craig, H. K. (1992). Performances of low-income, African American preschool and kindergarten children on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in the Schools, 23, 329-333.
34.
Watkins, M. W.
, Kush, J. C., & Glutting, J. J. (1997). Prevalence and diagnostic utility of the WISC-III SCAD profile among children with disabilities. School Psychology Quarterly, 12, 235-248.
35.
Weinstein, M. C.
, Berwick, D. M., Goldman, P. A., Murphy,J. M., & Barsky, A.J. (1989). A comparison of three psychiatric screening tests using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. Medical Care, 27, 593-607.
36.
Williams, K. T.
, & Wang,J.J. (1997). Technical references to the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Third Edition (PPVT-III). Circle Pines, MN: American Guidance Service.
