The experiment reported measured the degree to which cloze tests deliberately biased on the basis of contrastive analysis would actually be harder for Vietnamese than for speakers of other languages. The experiment tested the approach to ESL (English as a second language) for Vietnamese described in a guide for teachers of Vietnamese refugees…

It is the author's thesis that children's intellectual rights are denied in U.S. public education because creativity and self-motivated inquiry are discouraged. As a result of standardized testing, learning tends to be defined in terms of the retention of specific facts. Higher cognitive processes such as abstract reasoning, problem solving, and…

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…

The document states that certain steps need to be taken immediately for rectifying and containing the injustices of testing. Until such time that the State can demonstrate unequivocally that their statewide testing and evaluation program is fair to all groups, and that every student has had an equal exposure to quality school environments before…

Chicano and Amerindian vocabulary scale responses from the Stanford-Binet (LM) and Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children were item-analyzed for 1,009 subjects. The response patterns differed both by ethnic group and test, as well as by age. The most common, and recurring, pattern found was "level-of-difficulty" gradient…

In this paper, the author reviews a number of criticisms that have been made of the use of standardized tests in the social studies and reviews 11 general, skills, and discipline-oriented standardized tests for social studies. Standardized tests evaluating the results of the new social studies courses are open to criticism on the basis of…

Controversies centering around the accuracy of the estimates made of bilingual children's intellectual functioning and the effectiveness of prescriptive programs recommended for their subsequent development have resulted in the investigation and assessment of different instruments used for student placement in special education classes. The three…

Test publishers and the users of standardized IQ and summary-score achievement tests have failed to consider the problems associated with testing the minority child. Since the results of these tests are used to determine the education, economic, and social future of children, a harder look at the minority child's cultural background is essential.…

Presents nine articles dealing with aspects of testing and the role of the school counselor. Topics include interpreting test scores, testing problems and solutions, developing tests to predict dropping out, sex bias in vocational testing, detecting bias in standardized tests, assessments of reentry adults, and interest tests for adults. (JAC)

Recommends including essay questions on state economics examinations to prevent misclassification of students. Briefly reviews the literature arguing that certain groups of students do poorly on multiple choice tests. Discusses California's experience with adopting a combined-format type test. (MJP)

Precedents from litigation on state graduation assessments provide insight into the potential legal arguments challengers may raise with regard to mandated content and performance standards for all students. Clearly documented, fairly administered procedures that adhere to professional recommendations will be the hallmark of defensible standards.…

The basic tenet of this paper is that the difference between black and white children on IQ measures is not due to genetics but describes the cultural distance between the two groups. The cultural distance approach is described as an amalgam of the environmental and social psychology points of view. It holds that any subculture operating according…

This study describes intergroup guessing differences in response to tests and to test-like tasks. It is a composite of seven component inquiries with three substudies in Phase 1 and four in Phase 2. These seven studies cover the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) item-type domain from a number of viewpoints relevant to implicit guessing behavior.…

The testing of many American Indian children using standardized exams (achievement, aptitude, ability, and intelligence tests) developed for the majority American society represents a case of cross-cultural testing which is likely to produce invalid results in the form of underestimation of student performance. Requirements for obtaining accurate…

Professional assessment of mental retardation (MR) and learning disabilities (LD) is crucial to the implementation of P.L. 94-142 because it necessarily precedes the employment of trained teachers and because a plan for remediation depends on accurate assessment. Intelligence is a key element in the identification of MR-LD, but competent, fair…