The Golden Rule settlement's application in Illinois has not improved passing rates for Blacks on licensing tests relative to Whites. The Educational Testing Service (ETS) will apply the Golden Rule procedure in Illinois as long as the settlement remains in effect, but opposes it as precedent for other legislation. (SLD)

Refers to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Supreme Court's disparate impact interpretation of Title VII in Griggs versus Duke Power Company. Contends that attacks on the Griggs decision are legally unsound and that claims made by advocates of validity generalization are scientifically unsupported. (Author/NB)

Addresses relationship between urban African American students' perceptions of schools and tests, exploring literature's treatment of cultural bias in tests, educational practices, schooling in general; test-related social, political, economic/vocational issues; fairness of testing as educational/social practice. Testing is biased toward…

Commentary on "The Bell Curve." Points out that Herrnstein and Murray do not acknowledge their politically conservative funding sources. Discusses bias and inadequacies of IQ tests, lack of evidence of intergenerational reproduction of occupational classes, current underemployment of highly educated people, and the authors'…

The processes used in developing the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) to eliminate cultural bias while still measuring skills related to academic success are described, including test item writing, pretesting, and validation. Test items from 1908, 1927, 1947, and 1980 tests illustrate the evolution of the examinations. (MSE)

This article introduces this special issue on the differential performance of various ethnic groups on traditional, norm-referenced intelligence tests. The article discusses the role of the court system in determining intelligence test bias and suggests that attention be focused less on the instruments themselves and more on how they are used.…

Scores from four samples each of 250 and 1,000 physicians demonstrated that a linear procedure for equating scores and rescaling judges' standards for a certification test could be applied to individual item data gathered through the Angoff standard-setting method. Equated and rescaled values were close to those actually assigned. (SLD)

Reviews various approaches to assessment and instruction of Native students in Canada and the United States, particularly attempts to identify Native learning styles and to adapt curriculum to them. Describes two approaches particularly suitable for Native and other minority students because they teach social and academic cognitive and…

Data on the testing practices of 14 of the largest school districts in America indicate how schools inflate their test scores by excluding low-achieving students. Exclusion makes comparison among school districts and states virtually impossible. For children who are excluded, being left out of tests starts a cycle of bad education that ultimately…

This case study of a nonverbal nine year old with physical handicaps examines the ethics and efficacy of using formal assessment instruments with such children, without procedural modifications or qualification of test results. Results of home and classroom observations suggested that the formal assessments did not reflect the student's actual…

Two sides of debate on racial norming of aptitude tests are argued: that aptitude tests cannot be neutral to experience because aptitude itself is not neutral to experience, thus fairness to everyone is not possible in a single test; and that, predictively, ability tests are essentially color-blind and racial norming satisfies affirmative action…

Examined the effectiveness of a nonbiased computerized language screening test, the Kidtalk Interactive Diagnostic Test of Aptitude for Language Knowledge (KIDTALK), in differentiating children on basis of diagnostic category but not ethnic/linguistic background. Found a significant difference between scores of the language learning disabled and…

Addresses issues in culture-fair assessment including the more common types of cultural test bias, case law and federal statutes, and the trend toward development of assessments for special education purposes that are more culturally neutral. Describes several recently published ability assessments that have been developed to accommodate a variety…

Presents, in a farewell column, some reflections on educational issues and movements concerning rainbow students, including self-esteem, story sharing, nonverbal differences, racial identification, and testing. (TB)

Investigated gender differences in economics education and achievement, using data from a study of Australian secondary school students that collected data on student background and economics achievement (via the Test of Economic Literacy). Results showed few gender differences related to item bias, total performance, and student background…