Semester of Graduation

August 2025

Degree

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Communication Sciences and Disorders

Document Type

Thesis

Abstract

Recent research has advocated for interactive assessments of vocabulary over more traditional, static assessments, as interactive assessments are more sensitive to linguistic and cultural diversity. Static vocabulary assessments, such as the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT), probe existing knowledge, while interactive assessments, such as the Quick Interactive Language Screener (QUILS), examines a child’s language in a wholistic manner by assessing previously learned vocabulary knowledge, syntactic knowledge, and processing when learning a new concept. It remains unclear which assessment more accurately captures children's vocabulary knowledge throughout the Deep South—a region characterized by its unique cultural and linguistic environment, which includes the use of Southern White English and African American English. The current study examines whether static or interactive vocabulary assessments are more sensitive to diverse children’s actual language use on a basis of SES, race, and dialect density. To test this, 50 families (children ages 3-5) from the Deep South completed the PPVT, QUILS, and participated in a 15-minute recorded play session. Using SALT, the play sessions were transcribed and analyzed to measure the moving-average type token ratio (MATTR) produced by the child. Based on SES, there was a moderately significant difference in fail rates between groups at the -1 SD threshold, but not at the -1.5 SD threshold: 17.65% of lower SES children fell below the -1 SD threshold on the PPVT-5, which was significantly higher than any other group (X = 5.66, p = 0.05). There was a significant relationship between the QUILS overall score and child MATTR (r = 0.32, p = 0.03), but no significant relationship between the PPVT score and child MATTR (r = 0.08, p = 0.58). We suggest the interactive nature of the QUILS vocabulary assessment is more representative of actual vocabulary knowledge than the PPVT among a culturally and linguistically diverse sample.

Date

7-7-2025

Committee Chair

Oetting, Janna

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