A cross cultural examination of the Peabody picture vocabulary test revised

For years school systems have used intelligence tests to determine a student's needs for special programs which may label them for years to come. The criticism is that many students may become victims of unfair assessment measures and may be denied certain educational. The Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT, 1965) was standardized using a specific population which has little generalization yet has undoubtedly effected many persons. The method used to standardize the revised PPVT (PPVT-R) included more students with a wider age and racial range. This standardization method was an improvement over the method used to standardize the PPVT, however, the test results from the PPVT-R yielded lower mean averages than the original PPVT (Bracken & Prasse, 1981) which indicates less generalizability than the PPVT. This study investigated the validity of the PPVT-R cross culturally in an attempt to decrease the chances of unfairly evaluating a student's ability by the continued use of the PPVT or of the PPVT-R. Results in each correlation comparing students with similar characteristics confirmed the theory that the PPVT-R is biased in favor of whites and furthermore that students face the possibility of being unfairly labeled if evaluated with this instrument.