The workshop examines testing approaches for use with bilingual or limited English speaking students in determining eligibility and need for special services. The workshop covers the following areas: (1) an overall process for deciding whether a student may be in need of special services; (2) ways to alleviate or avoid problems which may impact on…

This paper reviews the now massive general literature showing that psychological tests are fair to minorities. This literature shows that there is no single group validity, there is no differential validity, and tests overpredict rather than underpredict minority job performance. Further evidence in regard to blacks is introduced from 51…

In response to a legislative mandate, this report assesses the validity of the College Level Academic Skills Test (CLAST) and offers recommendations for increasing the passing rate of students. Section I summarizes the Florida State Legislature's interest and intent in establishing CLAST an achievement test--measuring skills in computation,…

A formative evaluation minimum competency test model is examined. The model systematically uses assessment information to support and facilitate program improvement. In terms of the model, four inter-related qualities are essential for a sound testing program. The content validity perspective looks at how well the district has defined competency…

Previous studies of test item bias have investigated how different groups of examinees perform differently on a given set of items. These studies imply that examinees should be treated in a certain way because they are of a particular sex or race rather than as individuals in their own right, but it is unrealistic and unfair to assume such an…

The controversies surrounding the use of intelligence quotient (IQ) tests with children are summarized. This article discusses what intelligence is and how intelligence is measured. It also examines factors which can affect measurement, including examiner training or bias, examinee age, misinterpretation of test scores, and poor tests. The…

A profile method was used to analyze the patterns of four English proficiency tests (Comprehensive English Language Test for Speakers of English as a Second Language: Structure, CELT: Listening, Reading for Understanding Test, and The New Cloze Test) regarding two examinee characteristics: their language proficiency levels and native language. One…

Until recently, older workers have not been recognized as a group requiring special attention in the area of fair employment practices. Thus, progress has been slow towards the development of valid and reliable indices of performance which are applicable across the life span. Research shows that many measures of employee evaluation provide no…

This collection of papers resulted from a series of retreats, seminars, and colloquia held to help the Oklahoma State University Dean's Grant project increase involvement among regular education faculty in the education of handicapped children and youth. The series also sought to generate an increased level of coordination and communication among…

Set against the backdrop of a decade in which college admissions test scores have declined, this report reviews issues affecting college admissions testing and their implications, and focuses specifically on the debate between the makers and supporters of standardized tests and test critics. Overviews of the College Entrance Examination Board's…

A variety of terms related to test bias or test fairness have been used in a variety of ways, but in this document the "fair use of tests" is defined as equitable selection procedures by means of intact tests, and "test item bias" refers to the study of separate items with respect to the tests of which they are a part. Seven…

The following papers were delivered: Introductory Remarks, John W. Evans; An Evaluator's Perspective, Michael J. Wargo; Problems of Achievement Tests in Program Evaluation, Donald Ross Green; Diverse Human Populations and Problems in Educational Program Evaluation via Achievement Testing, Edmund W. Gordon; Critical Issues in Achievement Testing of…

The possibility that certain features of items on a reading comprehension test may lead to biased estimates of the reading achievement of particular subgroups of students was investigated. Item response data on the reading comprehension section of a frequently used achievement test were obtained from the Anchor Test Study data files. Eight…

Student Evaluation of Teaching (SET), a six-scale questionnaire, yielded an overall teaching effectiveness score for 53 teachers, rated by 1,128 Anglo, black, and Chicano students in their sixth grade social studies classes in 1974-75; and for 42 teachers (33 of them the same) in 1975-76 reading classes. SET correlated substantially with analogous…

Since their beginning, intelligence tests have favored the higher social classes. Despite federal mandates to the contrary, bias in assessment is likely to remain a problem. Claims of test bias can be categorized as popular (naive); clinical (intuitive); statistical (predictive); and psychometric (construct and content). A literature review has…