Cognates are known to facilitate second language acquisition and use, as learners tend to assign to a new L2 word the meaning of a similar L1 word. Consequently, for L2 tests that rely largely on lexical items, performance may prove inflated for examinees whose L1 shares many cognates with the language being tested. This article examines the…

Orthographic processing -- the ability to perceive, access, differentiate, and manipulate orthographic knowledge -- is essential when learning to recognize words. Despite its critical importance in literacy acquisition, the field lacks a tool to assess this essential cognitive ability. The goal of this study was to design a computer-based…

This research investigates key psychometric properties of the French Early Years Evaluation-Teacher Assessment measure designed to systematically assess kindergarten children across five social and academic developmental domains: awareness of self and environment, social skills and behaviour, cognitive abilities, language and communication, and…

This study investigated the use of latent class analysis for the detection of differences in item functioning on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Third Edition (PPVT-III). A two-class solution for a latent class model appeared to be defined in part by ability because Class 1 was lower in ability than Class 2 on both the PPVT-III and the…

Author focused on differences between whites and negroes in the United States and more generally on racial variation in man. (Author/RK)

Examines item bias on Forms L and M of the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised in Anglo-American and Mexican-American children (N=132). Analyses indicated bias as measured by differences in item difficulty in both groups; however, there was no clear pattern of items that were more difficult for either group. (LLL)

Adapted the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test to facilitate administration to low-functioning autistic children who do not have a pointing response. Autistic (N=10) and preschool-aged children (N=20) were given the standard form and the adapted form. Results supported the use of the published norms for the adapted version. (Author/RC)

The Soviet position on vocabulary and the relationships among intelligence, language, and culture holds that thoughts and words have different developmental roots and that there are more differences than likenesses between them. In this United States study, 105 students grouped by their having parents in three different employment categories were…

This paper reports two studies which compared scores obtained on the Slosson Intelligence Test (SIT) and Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT) and investigated the hypothesis that the representational level of the stimulus items in the PPVT is inappropriate for preschool children regardless of socioeconomic background. In the first study, the…

Revised Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test was administered to 410 Australian children to determine if significant cultural differences were apparent on Form L or M of revised test. Data indicated that there were differences that, while statistically nonsignificant, could lead to inaccurate clinical classification if all American items and norms were…

Findings suggest that caution should be used in interpreting results of the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT) with preschool rural Black children. (Authors/CJ)

Criteria were developed to assess sexual and racial item content bias for every item from six IQ tests. Each reference was judged as either stereotyped or not sterotyped. This analysis pointed out an overwhelming sexual and racial imbalance in item content. (Author/RL)

This study investigated some relationships between age, socioeconomic status (SES), and cognitive task performance among 120 Canadian children from Grades 1 and 4. Subjects were administered a battery of tasks, including Raven's Colored Progressive Matrices and Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, which differed in transformational requirements and…

This study examines item bias on Forms L and M of the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised (PPVT-R) for 132 Anglo-American and Mexican-American children in grades one through four. Analyses of variance were employed to assess item bias as defined by items x ethnicity interactions. Follow-up analyses were performed using a Bonferroni-type…

Low income and middle income four- and five-year old children were shown stimuli in three forms: objects, colored pictures, and black and white line drawings taken from commonly used assessment instruments, and were asked to label the stimuli. Results indicated both groups of children labeled the objects more successfully than the pictures.…