Development of the Putonghua expressive vocabulary assessment tool : Shanghai (PEVAT-SH)

Abstract

This study aimed to develop a standardized expressive vocabulary test, the Putonghua Expressive Vocabulary Assessment Tool – Shanghai (PEVAT-SH), for preschool children in Shanghai. In Phase 1, 288 words were selected based on 18 categories of entity that children are familiar with. Two Putonghua-speaking Shanghainese adults were consulted, and 18 preschool teachers were asked to rate the age of acquisition of the words. One item was discarded, and 10 difficult items were added, yielding 297 items. In Phase 2, a trial study was conducted on 54 children using the items developed in Phase 1. Items with appropriate difficulty and discrimination ability were selected. The revised list with 277 items was administered on 183 children. Rasch analysis led to a further reduction of 61 items. Normative data based on 216 items and 183 children were established. Test validity was examined with 9 children with language disorders. Good test validity was supported by significant correlations between the PEVAT-SH composite scores and the Gesell Developmental Scale scores, significant increase in PEVAT-SH scores with age, and significant difference between the performance of the language disordered group and the non-disordered group. PEVAT-SH could be a potential standardized expressive vocabulary test for Putonghua-speaking children in Shanghai.