In the past there were no substantial challenges to the idea that standardized, mass produced assessment would be universally beneficial. Culture was ignored or minimized as a factor in creating testing routines or in interpreting testing and assessment data. In recent years, challenges to this idea have arisen, but the primary pressure for the…

This speech deals with the assumptions and approaches underlying educational assessment and suggests alternatives to standardized testing. It is proposed that the assumption that test items can be standardized is at the base of assessment problems; while there are standard mental functions which children develop, there are no standard items that…

This paper explores historical, behavioral, and cultural aspects of cross-cultural assessment as background to a discussion of alternative approaches to I.Q. testing as a way of identifying gifted minority children. Chapter I, "Cross Cultural Assessment in Historical Perspective," is a historical look at cross-racial attitudes on intelligence and…