Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test

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The PPVT-III is an untimed, individual intelligence test, orally administered in 11 to 12 minutes or less. Extensively revised, this test measures an individual's receptive (hearing) vocabulary for Standard American English. In addition, it provides a quick estimate of verbal ability or scholastic aptitude. Specifically, the PPVT-III can also be used for assessing the English vocabulary of non-English-speaking individuals and assessing adult verbal ability. Two parallel forms (IIIA and IIIB) can be used for testing and retesting. No reading is required by the client, and scoring is rapid and objective. Item responses are made by pointing or multiple choice selection, dependant upon the subject's age. The total score can be converted to a percentile rank, mental age, or a standard deviation IQ score. No special training is required to administer, score, or interpret the PPVT-III.

The national norms of the PPVT-III have been extended to include ages 2-6 to 90+ years of age. This edition also was developed from adult norms obtained on 828 persons ages 19 to 40 selected to be nationally representative of geographical regions and major occupational groups. No people with handicaps were included in the norm population. A technical supplement gives detailed standardization data.

The PPVT-III provides an estimate of the client's verbal intelligence and has been administered to groups who had reading or speech problems, had mental retardation, or were emotionally withdrawn. Because the manner of the client's response to stimulus vocabulary is to point in any fashion to one of four pictures that best fits the stimulus work, these tests also apply to rehabilitation clients who have multiple physical impairments, but whose hearing and vision are intact. The test also has high interest value, and this can establish good rapport with the client. For its administration, the examiner presents a series of pictures to each client. There are four pictures to a page, and each is numbered. The examiner states a word describing one of the pictures and asks the client to point to or say the number of the picture that the word describes.

The test is not useful in its present form for blind and deaf people, but can be useful for people with mental retardation, for whom no modifications in instructions or format are needed. The only possible problem is that the illustrations for about the first 50 items often use children. These may not be acceptable to the adult with mental retardation.