Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test Narrative

Description
The Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT) is an assessment that measures a person’s ability to
understand spoken language (Dunn &, 2007). The test is separated into sets of twelve statements asking the
participant to point to a picture of a specific word. When a participant chooses the incorrect picture more than
eight times in one set, he/she has completed the test. Ultimately, this test indicates the level that the participant
understands the English language. This is not a test that determines this level by itself but can be used along
with other assessments to indicate an individual’s receptive language skills (Dunn &, 2007).
Method
I chose to administer the test in the conference room on the second floor of the BYU-Idaho Clarke
building. This room has several large cabinets up against a wall, a long table with ten chairs, a large television,
and a counter with a sink opposite of the cabinets. To make the environment less distracting, I cleared the
counter and the table of objects left by others. I turned off the television and erased writing off the whiteboard. I
borrowed a child-sized table from one of the preschool labs and two child-sized chairs. I set up the easel so that
the child was facing a wall to prevent distractions from people walking by. I sat in the child’s seat to see if there
was a glare on the pictures and practiced turning a few pages. I also put a sticky note where I would be starting
with Anna.
I selected Anna (name changed for confidentiality) because of her disposition and my relationship with
her. I was Anna’s preschool teacher previously and am working with her again. She does not have difficult
times transitioning in school and seeks out conversations with those around her. She has a long attention span
and can do activities that require sitting, listening, and focusing. I then talked to her mother and explained the
assessment. I obtained written permission from Anna’s mother and filled out the information on the front of the
scoresheet. I asked Anna if she would like to come with me for a little to play a new game. She willingly came
and I, as well as another adult, walked with her to the conference room. I showed her the room and let her open
all the cabinets and look inside. I then had her sit at the table with me and explained what we were doing.
Anna had a smile and bounced in her chair for the first three sets of this test. As she put her finger on the
pictures, she would look at me and giggle. Occasionally, she would start telling me a story related to the picture
she pointed to. The entire assessment took 19 minutes. For the first ten minutes, Anna continued with her
engaged and eager demeanor. She smiled frequently and made comments such as, “I’m ready for the next one!”
As the vocabulary words grew more difficult, her demeanor began to change. She did not smile as frequently,
she took longer to decide, and often changed her decision. Just before we hit the 19-minute mark, she seemed to
lose interest. She started to look at the door or at the walls around her. I finished administering the ceiling set
and we all walked back to the classroom.
Influential Factors
After reflecting on the assessment, I realized I should have done a better job of explaining to Anna that it
was alright to make guesses. When she did not know an answer, she would look at me with a furrowed brow
and pursed lips. There were also times in the beginning sets that she would point as soon as I finished saying the
words. I reminded her a couple of times that it was okay for her to wait until I finished talking to pick a picture.
Other factors that might have influenced the test results were distractions from an unfamiliar room. Therefore, I
made sure to give her time to look through the cabinets and explore the room before we started the assessment.
Test Results
After totaling the number of errors and calculating the different scores, I plotted the data points on the
scoresheet chart. The results of this assessment fell in the high average category.
 Reference:
Dunn, L. M. (2007). Ppvt 4 Manual (Vol. 4). Bloomington, MN: Pearson.