The Revised Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children appears significantly to widen the gap between Black and White performance, increasing the likelihood of unjustified negative social and educational consequences. (Author/EB)

Until the 1970s, there were few signs of change in the historic difference of one standard deviation between average ability or achievement test scores of black and white students. From 1970 to the mid-to-late 1980s, there was a substantial convergence of the average achievement test scores of blacks and whites. From the mid-to-late 1980s to 1992,…

The eight articles of this special issue explore the retrenchment that has seriously constrained the education of African Americans in California, as in much of the nation. Economic downsizing, genetic theories of racial inferiority, and right-wing attitudes have contributed to undermining the political gains of the 1960s and 1970s. (SLD)

Examines national data sets of cognitive scores for intellectual dysgenesis by considering race, socioeconomic status, and ability-related changes in test scores over time. The analysis did not support the dysgenic hypothesis; however, it indicates a convergence of the various segments of U.S. society. (MMU)

Relationship between ability tests and race and issues of famous lawsuits concerning possible bias in intelligence tests are summarized. Reasons for the origins of ethnic and racial differences in general intellectual ability are considered. Prospects for the reduction of group differences and conflicts are discussed. (SLD)

In previous studies of ethnic group bias in intelligence test items, the question of bias has been confounded with ability differences between the ethnic group samples compared. The present study is based on a conditional probability model in which an unbiased item is defined as one where the probability of a correct response to an item is the…

This article addresses the question of why intelligence tests were put on trial. The courts had to weigh the validity of intelligence tests once California chose to rely upon intelligence tests to justify the large numbers of Black children in classes for the educable mentally retarded. (Author/CTM)