Correlation of preschoolers' performance on three language comprehension tests

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised, (PPVT-R) and receptive subtest of the Preschool Language Scale (PLS), and between the PPVT-R and the Test of Auditory Comprehension of Language-Revised (TACL-R), as well as determine how the tests compare in identifying children in need of further evaluation in the area of receptive language. The reasoning behind the goal of this study was to determine that if the three tests showed a strong, positive correlation and identified the same children as needing further assessment, then perhaps the test which was easier and shorter to administer (the PPVT-R) could be used with more confidence 2 as a quick, reliable screening tool of overall receptive language ability. In other words, if a child does poorly on the PPVT-R, one could assume that the child would most likely score below average on the other two tests also. Based on the results of this study, one cannot make this assumption.