A Matter of Vocabulary: Performances of Low-Income African American Head Start Children on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test—III

Forty-nine 3- to 5-year-old African American children enrolled in Head Start were assessed using the third edition of the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (Dunn & Dunn, 1997). Their mean score (86.84, SD = 10.96) was significantly lower than the mean for the normative sample, despite the fact that the test's normative sample included minority children. An item analysis revealed that few items were systematically missed by most children. Instead, performance seemed reflective of socioeconomic and/or ethnic patterns of vocabulary usage. Educational and clinical implications are discussed.