The first eight chapters of this book introduce the topic of test bias. The basic issues involved in criticisms of mental tests and arguments about test bias include: (1) variety of tests and test items; (2) scaling of scores and the form of the distribution of abilities in the population; (3) quantification of subpopulation differences; (4)…

This article presents views of proponents and opponents to standardized tests, isolates the major weakness of testing--questionable validity--and offers several recommendations for the betterment of test development and use. Some major misuses of tests include the following: (a) tests are at times administered with no clear purpose; (b) test…

Different viewpoints regarding educational testing are described. While some people advocate continuing reliance upon standardized tests, others favor the discontinuation of such achievement and intelligence tests. The author recommends a moderate view somewhere between these two extremes. Problems associated with standardized testing in the…

This book includes nine essays. In the Introduction: "The Lingering Infatuation with IQ," the editors argue that since the IQ test has again risen as an instrument of conservative policy, the test and the arguments built around it must be reexamined. Noam Chomsky criticizes the well-known "Atlantic" article, "IQ" (September, 1971), in "The Fallacy…

Contents of this book include the following collection of articles: "Assessing Minority Group Children: Challenges for School Psychologists," Thomas Oakland; "The NEA Testing Moratorium," Boyd Bosma; "Cultural Myopia: The Need for a Corrective Lens," Martin H. Gerry; "Assumptions Underlying Psychological Testing," T. Ernest Newland;…

This exploration of gender and test fairness first considers ways in which women and men sometimes differ in test performance, and then examines some of the aspects of why they differ, focusing on aspects that have implications for the design of fair tests. The first chapter introduces the context of the topic, the nature of test fairness, and the…

Discussions of any test must focus on reliability, content validity, and interpretation of results. In this critique of On Further Examination--the report of the Advisory Panel on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) Score Decline--the National Education Association (NEA) finds no fault with the reliability of the SAT. Its content validity, however,…

It is the author's thesis that children's intellectual rights are denied in U.S. public education because creativity and self-motivated inquiry are discouraged. As a result of standardized testing, learning tends to be defined in terms of the retention of specific facts. Higher cognitive processes such as abstract reasoning, problem solving, and…

In this paper, the author reviews a number of criticisms that have been made of the use of standardized tests in the social studies and reviews 11 general, skills, and discipline-oriented standardized tests for social studies. Standardized tests evaluating the results of the new social studies courses are open to criticism on the basis of…

The controversial and complex issues regarding the effects of educational and psychological testing on the education of minority group children in America are discussed. Although the focus is primarily on black students, the issues discussed are equally valid for all minority populations in the American public schools. The articles in the book…

Issues in the testing of bilinguals are examined, particularly in the context of poor results attained on standardized tests by bilingual children. Discussion begins with an examination of definitions and classification of bilingualism, citing some evidence of confusion in use of terminology. Causes for this confusion are seen in popular…

The problems associated with standardized testing are illustrated in this collection of articles. Alternatives to current practices and strategies for change are suggested. The contributors discuss the roles and responsibilities of groups concerned with student evaluation systems, the testing of minority group and non-English-speaking students,…

This collection explores the theory and applications of educational testing. It is divided into sections on theory and general principles of educational measurement, administration of tests and scoring, and applications of testing. The following chapters present information on test theory and use: (1) "Current Perspectives and Future…

Not intended to be a technical piece of work in the sense of psychometric innovation, this volume presents a synthesis and summary of over four hundred highly selected reference sources. The objective is to present a gestalt of the perspectives, pitfalls, fallacies, issues, consequences, and trends in the use of standardized norm-referenced tests…