Performances of At-Risk, African American Preschoolers on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-III

Abstract

This study examined the performance of 59 at-risk, African American preschoolers on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-III (PPVT-III, Dunn & Dunn, 1997). The subjects were considered at-risk based on low-income status and/or social status variables such as family density and teenage parents. A mean standard score of 91 and a standard deviation of 11 were achieved by these children. Although these scores are below those reported for the PPVT-III standardization sample, the performance spread resulted in a normal distribution of scores. Differences in performance based on gender and income were not apparent, but level of education of the primary caregiver significantly influenced performance. The findings indicate that unlike the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised (PPVT-R, Dunn & Dunn, 1981) the PPVT-III is a culturally fair instrument that is appropriate for use with this population.

The Association between Reading Comprehension and Prerequisite Skills for Children in Poverty

“…On the narrative task, children demonstrated significantly poorer performance than age-matched children from the SALT dataset on both narrative structure and syntactic complexity. These results are consistent with previous studies that found poorer performance for children in poverty than those from a national standardization sample (Pruitt, 2006;Storch & Whitehurst, 2002;Washington & Craig, 1999;Whitehurst, 1997).…”

“…In summary, these results are consistent with previous studies that show that poverty or low SES has a negative effect on language skills (Fazio et al, 1996;Washington, 2001;Washington & Craig, 1999). Children from low SES families are more likely to experience limited language and cognitive stimulation from home environment, support with reading or academic attainment, and fewer material resources such as pencils and books.…”

Part-term learning of preschool children with low socioeconomic status

“…Washington and Craig (1999) reported a mean on the PPVT-III .68 standard deviations (M = 91.0, SD = 11) below the normative mean for a group of at-risk preschool African-American children. Within the Washington and Craig (1999) sample, children with caregivers with the least amount of education, less than a high school education, had a mean of 77.3 (SD = 10.7), 1.74 standard deviations below the PPVT-III normative mean.…”

Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-III: Normative data for Spanish-speaking pediatric population

“…Normative studies on the PPVT-III have not developed norms using this variable but a number of studies have looked at its influence on performance. For example, educational level of parent(s) of African-American children was related to the score obtained by children in the PPVT-III, such that children whose parent(s) had completed high school or college, scored higher than children whose parent(s) had not finished high school (Washington & Craig, 1999).…”

“…Evidence of adequate performance of this test has been obtained in studies with ethnic minority participants. For example, Washington and Craig (1999) found that the PPVT-III was an appropriate instrument for use with African American children. Haitana, Pitama, & Rucklidge (2010) found the same with a sample of Maori children.…”