Visuo-spatial reasoning tests, such as Raven's matrices, Cattell's culture-fair test, or various subtests of the Wechsler scales, are frequently used to estimate intelligence scores in the context of inter-racial comparisons. This has led to several high-profile works claiming that certain ethnic groups have lower intelligence than others,…

An adapted version of the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence--Third Edition (WPPSI-III) was administered to assess cognitive functioning among 1,253 5-year-old children from the Malnutrition and Enteric Disease (MAL-ED) study--an international, multisite study investigating multiple aspects of child development. In this study,…

The selection and interpretation of individually administered norm-referenced cognitive tests that are administered to culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students continue to be an important consideration within the psychoeducational assessment process. Understanding test directions during the assessment of cognitive abilities is…

Students identified as learners with specific Learning Disabilities (SLD) represent almost half of the total special education population. With the high numbers of students identified as SLD, there has also been the concern of over-identification of immigrant students called English language learners (ELLs), which leads to disproportionality in…

This paper discusses issues on cross-cultural gifted screening from a Philippine perspective. Research on gifted education in the Philippines, and Southeast Asia in general, is still nascent. The main focus of this review of literature is on equity of the gifted education screening process across wide socioeconomic, cultural, and linguistic…

In this study, cross-cultural differences in cognitive test scores are hypothesized to depend on a test's cultural complexity (Cultural Complexity Hypothesis: CCH), here conceptualized as its content familiarity, rather than on its cognitive complexity (Spearman's Hypothesis: SH). The content familiarity of tests assessing short-term memory,…

The author examines claims that the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC) is less culturally biased than other standard tests of intelligence. He concludes that the diminished Black-White difference for the K-ABC is largely the result of psychometric and statistical artifacts. Implications for future test construction are noted.…

Author, feeling that too much importance is placed on the results of intelligence tests, offers some possibilities for revision. (MB)

Cultural bias and the clinical utility of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) and the French Pictorial Test of Intelligence were evaluted using scores of 22 male and 22 female Navajo primary grade children. As expected, the verbal IQ and full scale IQ of the WISC-R and the deviation IQ of the French provided significantly…

Examines assumptions and premises of standardized tests of mental ability and reviews extant theories and research on intellectual functioning of children from culturally different backgrounds. Discusses implications of these issues and perspectives for new directions for intellectual assessment for children from culturally different backgrounds.…

Use of conventional standardized intelligence tests to identify gifted students presents problems with students from diverse cultural backgrounds. Assessment of learning ability (in particular the method of "test, teach, and test") may be a better method for identifying gifted students. Tests being used in Israel and Great Britain are…

Test scores reflect the unfairness of social and environmental conditions. The remedy is not the elimination of the test or alteration of skills demanded by the school, so that there will be no need for such tests, but the elimination of learning inequalities and social inequalities. (Author)

Practical and theoretical issues regarding assessment and treatment alternatives for Black exceptional children are presented, including: problems in the evaluation of assessment practices; a review of critiques of large and small studies on assessment practices of Black children, with emphasis upon the insights they yield for improved assessment…

The author maintains that IQ testing developed in a political context and still serves to descriminate against minority group gifted children; he suggests a method of identifying potentially gifted disadvantaged children by using culturally familiar experiences. The discriminatory aspects of intelligence testing are evidenced by quotes from L.…

The science of linguistics contributes to the study of cultural diversity and the education of exceptional children.