This update to "SAT Wars" provides new evidence in the case against standardized college entry tests, including the experiences of test-optional colleges. "The Scandal of Standardized Tests" sheds significant light on key problems such as: (1) Are the tests stronger proxies for race and family income today than they were 20…

Standardized testing is a defining feature of contemporary American society. It not only governs how people are channeled through their schooling; it amplifies existing social disparities. Nonetheless, standardized testing endures, namely because it has served as a vital tool for the post-1945 American state. The postwar state prioritized, on the…

Evaluation of programs that address the lingering effects of human rights abuses during times of conflict is necessary to improve program sustainability and create a knowledge bank about the effectiveness of strategies. Outcomes, however, are hard to measure. Evaluators have to gain understanding of the roots of a conflict, surrounding events,…

Effective talent-identification procedures minimize the proportion of students whose subsequent performance indicates that they were mistakenly included in or excluded from the program. Classification errors occur when students who were predicted to excel subsequently do not excel or when students who were not predicted to excel do. Using a…

Examines recent developments in multicultural and career assessment. Discusses the necessary foundational skills for culturally competent assessment and presents a process model for culturally appropriate career assessment of ethnically diverse individuals. Addresses considerations for the development of culturally competent assessment…

Investigated whether group differences between immigrants and majority group members are best described as Jensen effects or as cultural effects and studied the bias of culture-reduced tests and culture-loaded tests. Findings from 2 studies involving 786 and 267 immigrants and comparable control groups demonstrate the presence of Jensen effects…

The first section of this paper defines three incompatible ethical positions in regard to the fair and unbiased use of psychological tests for selection in minority and majority groups. Also in this section, five statistical definitions of "test fairness" are reviewed and examined critically for technical, logical, and social weaknesses. In the…

The paper discusses a new battery of tests, the Assessment of Basic Competencies, designed for fair assessment of the latent abilities of minority group children. It is explained that the tests provide diagnostic assessment in several domains of competence that are considered important for school learning. The three domains, information…

In the United States, IQ tests are developed by and for whites. IQ tests and their derivates have been used on minorities not so much for prescriptive intervention purposes as for confirmation of suspiciously different behavior and for placement into special education and out of programs for the gifted, higher education, and advanced occupational…

EDUCATORS POSSESS SPECIAL SERVICE AND INSTRUCTIONAL SKILLS WHICH, IF USED WISELY, CAN ASSIST MINORITY GROUP CHILDREN IN OVERCOMING THEIR EARLY DISADVANTAGES. EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTS MAY HELP IF THEY ARE CAREFULLY AND INTELLIGENTLY EMPLOYED. PROFESSIONAL TRAINING AND DIAGNOSTIC SENSITIVITY ARE REQUIRED. STANDARDIZED TESTS CURRENTLY IN USE…

Differences in test scores can be attributed to various causes, including genuine knowledge differences, test-taking abilities, and irrelevant and biased questions. The Golden Rule reform is a safeguard to ensure that standardized tests measure relevant knowledge differences between test takers and not irrelevant, culturally specific factors. (JAZ)

The author reviews the use of the Raven Advanced Progressive Matrices (APM) as a general intelligence measure for selection of students to the Chicago public school magnet high school program. Advantages of the APM are cited, including its effectiveness in identifying gifted minority students. (CL)

Career counseling with the intellectually gifted requires awareness of general concerns regarding this population as well as specific issues that may affect gifted males, females, and minorities. Use of career assessment instruments requires attention to their appropriateness for the gifted as well as gender and cultural bias. (Contains 65…

The premise that there are no valid and reliable psychological tests for use with Indochinese refugees is discussed. The history of the use of tests in the United States has been promulgated as being beneficial to the minority group members exposed to them without revealing their underlying discriminatory uses. Only the System of Multicultural…

Examined cultural bias of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) for Anglo-American, Black, and Mexican American children. Minority children responded in the same way as Anglo-American children. No clear pattern to items on the test that were more difficult for minority children appeared. The WISC-R appears to be nonbiased.…