|
Assessment of Children’s Progress in English
Back to Assessment
The U. S. Department of Education, which funds Even Start, is also interested in Even Start children’s progress in learning English. The Texas Education Agency has also recently adopted Early Childhood Indicator of Program Quality #6:
70% of students who are 3-5 years of age by September 1 of the program year from Even Start families enrolled in Even Start at least four consecutive months will show progress between pre and post testing on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, Third Edition (PPVT ) administered in English. Progress is shown by achieving the same or greater standard score on pre and post measures which would indicate growth according to assessment norms.
 The Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, Third Edition
The Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT) is an individually administered, untimed, norm-referenced test. It can be administered to children ages 2-1/2 years and up. It serves as an achievement test of receptive vocabulary attainment of standard English (the level of a person’s English vocabulary acquisition). The PPVT can also serve as a screening test of verbal ability only when English is the language of the examinee’s home, community and school.
Oral response to PPVT test items is not required. For persons for whom English is a second language, the PPVT provides a measure of English language proficiency. PPVT can be helpful in detecting language impairments.
Read more about the PPTV and purchase materials.
Characteristics of the PPVT |
PPVT... |
-
Is an untimed power test
-
Testing time averages 11 to 12 minutes and
-
Testing time ranged from 8 to 16 minutes for 2/3 of the norming sample
-
Is administered in a quiet private room away from distractions
-
Requires good rapport between the examiner and the examinee
-
Yields a Standard Score, Percentile Rank and Normal Curve Equivalent
-
Uses stimulus words and Picture Test Plates
|
Cautions in Using the PPVT
The PPVT-III should be understood to be a measure only of hearing, or receptive, vocabulary, which is only a single aspect of the linguistic and cognitive domains. For this reason, PPVT-III is frequently used as part of a test battery.
While use of the PPVT-III as a measure of English language proficiency is accepted and appropriate, users should keep in mind that the PPVT-III norming sample did not contain persons of limited English proficiency. The PPVT-III Examiner’s Manual cautions that if individuals who are English language learners are tested using the PPVT, “this information should be recorded on the child’s Performance Record and norms interpreted accordingly.” (p. 4).
In addition, since the PPVT will be used as the measurement for the Even Start English language acquisition early childhood education performance indicator (#6) for 2005-2006, it is critical for valid measurement that teachers not deliberately teach the specific PPVT vocabulary to the children. |
|
