Standard setting (the process of establishing minimum passing scores on high-stakes exams) is a highly evaluative and policy-driven process. It is a common belief that standard setting panels should be diverse and representative. There is concern, however, that panelists with varying characteristics may differentially influence the results of the…

The current study examines the views of experts in the science of mental abilities about the primacy and uniqueness of "g" and the social implications of ability testing, and compares their responses to the views of a group of non-expert psychologists. Results indicate expert consensus that "g" is an important, non-trivial determinant (or at least…

This paper considers the question of bias in group administered academic achievement tests, bias which is inherent in the instruments themselves. A body of data on the test of performance of three disadvantaged minority groups--northern, urban black; southern, rural black; and, southwestern, Mexican-Americans--as tryout samples in contrast to…

This paper was presented March 1, 1969 at the meeting of the Southeastern Psychological Association, New Orleans.

Army personnel managers have a continuing need to select, classify and assign to training and jobs large numbers of men who enter the service. The present publication addresses the value of selection and classification testing program in relation to job training success and the suitability of the tests for subgroups of the manpower available to…

The effects of performance-enhancing modifications of testing procedures of a Piagetian-type instrument were investigated for samples of elementary school-aged White, Black, and Mexican-American children. Results are discussed in terms of test validity. (JKS)

While the seventh and ninth grade Maryland Functional Mathematics Tests (MFMT) appear valid and well constructed, the 65 percent passing rate for Montgomery County Public Schools' ninth grade students raises questions about the 81 percent passing score set for the MFMT. This standard is far stiffer than the 59 percent set for the Maryland…

Most of the arguments lodged against minimum competency testing are really observations about the abuses of testing. Blacks and other minority groups are understandably mistrustful of recent developments in minimum competency testing--possible grounds for legal challenges include the adequacy of the phase-in periods; the match between tests and…

This study of modeling behavior in Aboriginal and White Australian boys examines the ways that racial characteristics may intervene in cross-cultural research as factors contributing to performance on experimental and standardized psychological tests. (Author/EB)

Changing perspectives in educational intelligence testing are traced from a genetically deficient model to a culturally disadvantaged or deprived model to a culturally different model. It is argued that if comparisons are to be made between people, they should be made within the context of the cultural and socioeconomic group structure of each…

Discrepancies between the K-ABC and its theoretical base of simultaneous and sequential mental processing; technical and design problems related to disproportionate subtest contributions of the Simultaneous Scale to the Mental Processing Composite; the method of subtest-specific variance computation and use in interpretation; and utility with…

To assist in the development of policies to eliminate the subtle inequities which inhibit the mathematics achievement of many Black youths, it is suggested that the redesign of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) mathematics assessment study Black students' opportunity to learn mathematics. Recommendations for the redesign of…

This program of research has three general thrusts. First, the relations between motivation and achievement performance were studied across children of various sociocultural backgrounds including lower- and middle- class white, black, and hispanic children. Motivational test bias was found to be strong for students of all sociocultural…

The average grade equivalent reading comprehension scores of students in Black schools are compared to those of students in White schools under two forms of test administration. Concludes that use of grade level testing with the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills is biased in favor of low scoring subgroups. (Author)

A popular method of analyzing test items for differential item functioning (DIF) is to compute a statistic that conditions samples of examinees from different populations on an estimate of ability. This conditioning or matching by ability is intended to produce an appropriate statistic that is sensitive to true differences in item functioning,…