This document presents the results of a study on the socio-economic and educational status of blacks in Florida. Data are presented in the following areas: (1) black family demographics; (2) employment status and income; (3) test standards, performance and student tracking; (4) high school promotion, dropout and graduation rates; (5) special…

Reviews the major issues involved in testing Black children and youth. Argues that testing must be demystified by improving professional training, and that testing must be viewed as only one part of the assessment of achievement and ability. Concludes that more Black professionals must be included in the process of test development and…

Much of the language and many constructs used in testing and assessment must be redefined in order for testing instruments to be valid for use with children of African-American descent. These children are products of unique linguistic environments. Current educational assessment tools are insensitive to the cultural-linguistic diversity of the…

Discusses the current practice in the U.S. of standardized testing of teachers as a response to the perceived failures of public schools. Focuses on the position that this practice reduces the already low percentage of minority teachers in the schools. Reviews testing practices in various states and the consequences encountered. (SA)

Argues that the Florida Teacher Certification Examination is culturally, linguistically, and philosophically biased against minorities. Suggested alternatives to testing are implementation of knowledge about effective schools, teacher workshops on effective techniques and attitudes for teaching nonachievers, and improved early education. (CMG)

The importance of developing culturally specific tests for black children is addressed, along with the overall issue of whether a criterion used to discriminate among groups is valid for the population for which it is used. In addition, a brief historical review illustrates accessibility to full participation of citizens and noncitizens of early…

Investigates the factor structure of an intelligence scale for White, Mexican American, and African American children. Examined 4541 non-referred children and looked at verbal comprehension, perceptual organization, and freedom from distractibility. Results indicate differences in the intelligence scale's factor structure across groups, raising…

In the first report, dated August 1991, assessment of three language tests is reported. The tests were developed and are used as part of a Los Angeles Unified School District (California) program to teach mainstream American English (MAE) to speakers of African American Language (AAL). The tests include a writing assessment (grades 3-6) and two…

The study compared performance of 135 children of three different ethnic groups (Black, Hispanic, and White) on the Minnesota Percepto-Diagnostic Test-Revised with age and IQ controlled. Results indicated no significant differences for the rotation T-score but significant differences in favor of Whites for the supplementary scores. (Author/DB)

Findings from a study that explored differences in the definition and operationalization of leadership between mainstream and disadvantaged groups are presented in this paper. The "fuzzy concept operationalization method" was used to define leadership traits in two groups of leaders participating in two different leadership training workshops: 12…

A culture-specific approach to identifying artistic talent in African-American students is presented, called Tactuality. Tactuality identifies four characteristics: emotional intensity, flexibility and open-endedness, holistic perception, and tactile sensitivity. A pilot test with 63 fourth graders resulted in statistical problems with validation.…

The author discusses the state of the art in assessment of African American children with possible handicaps. He asserts that changes must be made regarding the goal of assessment, the role of the assessors, the process of assessment, the criterion for validity, and the preparation of assessors. He further suggests that the problem with testing is…

Assessment procedures and psychometric properties of an instrument used to measure psychological well-being in black adolescents are described. The How I Feel test, presented in an audiovisual format, reliably and validly measures several multi-item constructs representing psychological well-being. Two major components are self esteem and…

These two related papers provide information on teacher attitudes toward black dialect use in the classroom and the measurement of such attitudes. The first paper reports on data from 176 administrators, counselors, teachers, and student teachers, revealing significant relationships between a teacher's definition of black dialect, attitudes toward…

Comparison of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (Third Edition) and the Cognitive Assessment System (CAS) with 78 special education students found that the WISC-III identified more children, especially more black children, as having mental retardation. Results imply that the problem of disproportionate identification of black children…