EVT-2
Expressive vocabulary test (II)
Expressive vocabulary test (II) is:
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Individually administered
Norm-referenced
Assesses expressive vocab and word retrieval
Children and adults 2:6 to 90 years
Labeling and synonym
Word retrieval evaluated by comparing
expressive and receptive vocab skills using
standard score differences between EVT-2 and
conformed PPVT-4.
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Each of forms contain three examples followed by
190 items arranged in order of increasing difficulty.
Examiner presents a picture from the test easel and
reads a stimulus question from the record form.
Examinee must respond with one word that provides
an acceptable label for the picture, answers a specific
question about the picture, or provides a synonym for
a word that fits the pictured context
Examples are given to the examinee at the beginning
to ensure understanding of the task.
Key Features
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development- broad sampling of words, parts of speech, full-colour
pictures, representative of races, biased items removed before printing,
normed on a nationwide sample of 3540, matched to US census data with
regard to sex, race, ethnicity, geographic region, education level (of parents
and examines if adult).
Administration: start items, basal and ceiling restrict test to areas of ability
Examinee not required to read, write, or give lengthy oral responses.
Correct responses are listed in report forms
Age-based or grade-based comparison.
Standard scores allow comparison to other tests with same: i.e. tests of oral
language, academic achievement, and cognitive ability
Percentiles, normal curve equivalents, stanines, and age and grade
equivalents also available
Growth scale value
Applications:
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screening, progress monitoring, research by speech-language
pathologists, reading specialists, psychologists, who measure
expressive vocab. Skills in children through to adults.
Screening: possible language difficulty
Screening preschoolers: high-frequency words
Word retrieval: if were able to identify words in PPVT, may be
a problem such as aphasia (loss of ability to produce or
comprehend language), or other expressive language
difficulties (apraxia: loss of ability to make the movements
necessary to create speech, dysarthria: difficulty with
articulation of speech sounds).
Applications cont’d
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Reading difficulties: understanding and assessing
literacy skills
Monitoring growth: GSV
Research: longitudinal, clinical
ELL: Inappropriate to report a normative score for
someone who is not proficient in English. However,
the test can be used to evaluate examinee’s
knowledge of words and their type (high-frequency,
etc). Screening and intervention.
Quantitative vs. qualitative analysis
Administration of the test
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Qualifications
Rapport
Special needs
Administration cont’d
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Order of administration: PPVT then EVT. Why? PPVT is
easier, speech not required. Same order as in standardization.
Forms: A and B. If you want to compare same items on both,
use A then B, or B then A. If you don’t need to compare, use
A for both or B for both.
Seating arrangement: unobstructed view of examinee, right
angles, don’t show answers or report form.
Recording info: verify all info, esp. birth date. Reason for
administering: assessing word retrieval skills, expressive
vocabulary, or screening for language impairment, depending
in reason for testing.
Why do you need the birthdate? Start item and converting raw
to standard scores. 30 days in a month, don’t round days up to
next month.
Administration
1. Read instructions for first examples on easel, depending on age of examinee
(1/2 for 2-6:11 year olds; 2, 3 for 7 and older). If both are correct, go to
appropriate start item for their age.
2. If young examinee responds incorrectly to either or both examples, go to
first test item.
3. If older examinee has difficulty with 2/3, go back to example one, and begin
starting at an earlier start item than their age would suggest.
4. Teach on the start item as well. IE reinforce correct answer after you record
it, and if incorrect answer or don’t know, record THEN teach correct
answer. “Zipper. This is a zipper.”
5. Show pictures for all questions. For questions that point to a specific body
part, if the examinee does not understand, point to your own body part.
Pictures also give context for synonyms. Follow the script in the easel
and record form by word!
Admin. cont’d
6. Basal: five consecutive correct items. Ceiling: five incorrect items in a row.
Not including examples.
7. If examinee gets any of the first five wrong, go back til you get to five right
in a row. Then jump ahead to where you left off and continue til you get
to five wrong in a row. That is your ceiling.
8. If you don’t find five in a row that are right, still move forward to get the
ceiling.
9. Administration rules: read the question as it is in the record form. no
defining the word, showing the question, spelling of words. Words may
be repeated only once.
10. See alternative wording for repeating or prompting: p.11.
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What do you call this?
Tell me another name for what you see.
Tell me one word for this.
11. Synonyms:
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Tell me another word that means the same thing and goes
with the picture.
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Tell me another name for the picture
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Tell me another way to say..etc. see p 11.
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Response time: 10 sec.
12. Pointing questions: make sure you point at the right part.
Make sure examinee is paying attention when you do this.
13. Same pictures from previous questions: if examinee notices,
say yes but this is a different question. And then repeat the
question. Some questions have the same picture for two
separate questions. Don’t turn the page by mistake.
14. “Pay attention” if distracted.
15. “good job” or “you are doing well” if shy or
reluctant
16. if you think he/she misheard, ask them to repeat
question back to you.
17. don’t say if it was right or wrong. Just say “that was
a good answer”.
18. Remind examinees to look at the picture.
19. Circle/draw line under correct/ incorrect answer on
the form. If it is not there, write it in the Other
column.
20. DK: don’t know.
Prompting
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P or Figure 2.4 ( p. 13)
Only prompt for words in the prompt section of each
question
Use alternative sentence from p. 11
Another answer that is in the prompt section? Ok prompt
again.
Don’t overprompt if the answer isn’t coming
Remind examinees to say one word only.
If the response contains the correct word, and has the same
meaning, mark it as right.
Others, score according to answer given after prompt.
Scoring
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Correct answers are in the correct box of the record form
1 for correct; 0 for incorrect
Record last new response if they change their mind.
Don’t suggest or encourage changes if they make a mistake.
If you prompt a close answer that is listed in the P box, and
they get it right after this, mark it correct.
Additional prompts: multiple words, wrong form (part of
speech), too vague, related word, too many words, no words,
repeat question, wrong meaning for the picture.
Scoring rules
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words are taken from the dictionary. Sometimes two words
have one meaning, such as field glasses.
multiple word: if contains correct word in same context,
mark as right.
Don’t penalize for pronunciation or articulation errors (e.g.
lisp).
Familiarized responses such as “ducky” are okay for young
children.
shortened words are sometimes okay, such as copter.
slang may be okay, such as chopper
foreign words are sometimes okay, such as amigo
answer must go with the picture.
must be specific to the picture.
Symbols
Brackets [ ]:
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Multiple answers: remind examinee to restrict to one
word answers
General categories, e.g. [other animal]
Too specific answer e.g. [specific brand], may be wrong
Slashes /: alternative words or word endings. May
be in correct or incorrect boxes.
Parentheses ( ): alternative endings may be correct
or incorrect
Calculating raw score
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Same as PPVT: subtract total errors from
highest ceiling score.
Total errors goes from first error to last.
Questions below the basal are counted as
correct.
Use the highest ceiling possible if there is
more than one (rare).
Determination of scores
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Sam: 8 years, 4 months, third grade
converting raw score to a standard score:
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compare to age or grade (Fall/spring) norms depending on examinee’s
ability level and results
B.1: age
B.2: grade fall (July 1 to New Years Eve)
B.3: grade spring (New Years to June 30)
Form a or B
Confidence interval: personal preference and reason for
testing.
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90 or 95%
Same table, B1, 2 or 3.
90% chance that true score falls within the range given (possibility of
test error).
Percentile, NCE, or stanine:
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Percentile: B.4
Age equivalent: B.5
Grade equivalent: B.6
Use raw score not standard!!! For age and grade equivalents
GSV: B.5 or b.6
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Use a or b
B.9 for old EVT.
extremely low scores: raw score of 0: don’t report standard
score.
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Was test valid for this person?
Report behavioral observations rather than standard score
Extremely high scores: if they reached the maximum, they may have
been able to go further. Note this on observations.
Interpreting scores
Standard scores: average, above average, below
average
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no bell curve on front; simply a ruler line.
Mark an x on the number corresponding to the standard
score on the upper section of the number line. Shade in
the confidence interval in the lower part.
Standard deviations indicate how far the examinee’s
standard score was from the mean (average).
Significantly different from the norm if 2 SD’s or more.
Standard score may remain the same from year to year,
but this still means they made progress (as age or grade
went up and so did norms).
If progress is made, Raw score will increase, so will GSV
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Percentiles: can’t compare test results from
one test to another (ordinal)
Stanines: often used as cutoff scores or when
broad interpretations of performance are
needed (RR- only go from 1 to 9).
Age/grade equivalents
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the age or grade at which the raw score was the
average.
Should not be used for diagnosis or placement
May not reflect individual’s range or depth of
ability
Cannot compare age grade equivalents from
different test. Why? They are not derived scores
that are distributed evenly around the mean (i.e. bell
curve). Differences between levels are not the
same.
Don’t misinterpret/overinterpret these scores!
GSV
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as examinee improves over time, GSV will
increase.
Examine effectiveness of intervention
Average can be taken of groups.
Score differences between PPVT-4
and EVT-2
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USE AGE NORMS!! Need to know their age.
go to the back of the report form. Write down the standard
score data from both tests on the graph as earlier in the report
form (score on top; confidence interval on bottom).
Check off which form was used, A or B.
subtract scores from each other. Enter difference (positive) in
box.
check for significance of result in B.7 to see whether this
difference was statistically significant or not. Circle the
appropriate number. .01 means less than 1% chance that
difference happened by chance. Note the smaller the value,
the greater the significance of the difference is real and not due
to chance.
Prevalence and statistical
significance
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Prevalence: how common is this difference in the norm
population?
B.8: Look up the examinee’s age and difference in the table
and look up the percentage in the sample population that had
the same difference. This tells you how
common/uncommon this is. Circle amount in the
Percentage box on report form.
“The difference is statistically significant at the .01 level,
and only one out of 100 children would have the same
difference as his.”= The result is statistically significant (or
not) and this is how many people would have the same
difference in the sample population.
The more significant, the less people will have the same
difference.
Interpreting score differences
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If there is no significant difference between scores on EVT and PPVT,
and scores are at a similar level, the examinee’s vocab level is consistent
receptively and expressively.
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if there is a significant difference and it is uncommon, look further.
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if the PPVT is higher, may be a word retrieval problem, rather than
expressive vocab. Why? If they knew the answers in the PPVT, they
know the answers but are not answering correctly in the EVT. E.g.
dysnomia: difficulty naming things. Or other expressive language
problem. May want to administer another more comprehensive oral test
such as OWLS. Observe child in natural env’t where he speaks.
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if the EVT is higher, they may prefer expressing their knowledge
verbally rather than pointing.