Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test

Abstract The Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT) is an individually administered, norm‐referenced test of single‐word receptive (or hearing) vocabulary. Originally published in 1959, the PPVT has been revised several times and currently exists in its fourth edition (PPVT‐4; Dunn & Dunn, 2007). In addition to assessing receptive vocabulary, test authors report that the PPVT‐4 may be used as a means of estimating verbal development (Dunn & Dunn, 2007). Normed with a sample of 3,540 individuals ages 2½ to 90 representative of March 2004 U.S. census data, the PPVT‐4 features two parallel forms (Form A and Form B), each consisting of 228 test items. Items consist of two stimuli, a word spoken by the examiner and four pictures on a single card; the examinee selects the picture that best represents the examiner's spoken word. Raw scores may be translated into age‐based standard scores (i.e., M = 100; SD = 15), percentile ranks, stanines, age equivalents, and grade equivalents.