Presented are findings of a study to monitor programs for the educable mentally retarded (EMR) in California, with emphasis on the numbers of racial and ethnic minority students placed in EMR classes. The document is divided into six sections: an introductory section explaining impetus for the study; Section II with background information on the…

Seven prepared papers, with questions from the audience and answers by participants make up the proceedings of this conference on minimum competency testing. A number of conceptual and technical problems were raised, as well as questions about the effects of minimum competency testing on the curriculum and the psychological effects of the program…

The Basic Occupational Literacy Test (BOLT) was developed as an achievement test of basic skills in reading and arithmetic, for educationally disadvantaged adults. The objective was to develop a test appropriate for this population with regard to content, format, instructions, timing, norms, and difficulty level. A major issue, the use of grade…

The text examines issues related to Hispanic children in special education. Chapter 1 discusses four court cases brought against schools for inappropriate placement of Hispanic and other minority students in classes for the educable mentally retarded. Testing is the focus of Chapter 2, which includes analysis of linguistic and cultural bias,…

In previous studies of ethnic group bias in intelligence test items, the question of bias has been confounded with ability differences between the ethnic group samples compared. The present study is based on a conditional probability model in which an unbiased item is defined as one where the probability of a correct response to an item is the…

To permit local districts to exercise their option to use standardized tests for state-mandated evaluations, a test rating form was developed. A key concern was the percentage of state approved reading and mathematics skills measured by a test, rather than the test's value for other uses. Other content concerns were readability and cultural and…

The revised and renamed Strong Campbell Interest Inventory (SCII) is examined to determine if the occupational and sex biases present in the older Strong Vocational Interest Blank (SVIB) were eliminated. It is concluded that an occupational bias (favoring professional rather than blue-collar occupations) still exists in the SCII, although there is…

Random polygons were used as stimuli in a two-choice multiple discrimination learning paradigm designed to test individual learning ability. A nonverbal test was developed in order to avoid the cultural and racial bias which, according to the author, is inherent in verbal tests. Information processing rate (IPR) was used as the measure of learning…

Scores on the Prescriptive Reading Inventory, the California Achievement Tests, 1970 Edition, the the Short Form Tests of Academic Aptitude were obtained for black pupils and representative samples of pupils in grades 1-3. These scores were compared in an attempt to asses bias in the Prescriptive Reading Inventory, a criterion-referenced…

This guide first points out the difficulty and the lack of reliability involved in using tests to evaluate the abilities of children from linguistically and culturally diverse backgrounds. Suggestions are then given for using existing evaluation techniques to test the English language proficiency of children at kindergarten level. The following…

Evaluates whether eight low-achieving Native Canadian children performed better than a matched group of eight non-Natives using the Category Test relative to Full Scale IQ. Explores relationship between Category Test performance and levels of academic achievement. Discusses implications of Native children's higher levels of abstract reasoning…

The present study examines a new battery of nonverbal cognitive measures used extensively with numerous preschool children. Seven nonverbal, individually administered measures of fluid reasoning and visualization were administered to these children. Raw scores were converted to age-corrected scaled scores and subjected to multivariate analysis of…

The purpose of this essay is to explore both what is known and what needs to be learned about the information value of performance items "when they are used in large scale assessments." Within the context of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), there is substantial motivation for answering these questions. Over the…

Studies by the Stanford Research Institute indicate that poor Black children were 3.5 times more likely to be identified by teachers as mentally retarded than their White counterparts. Biased intelligence tests should not be used for placement, and lawsuits should be filed against their use throughout America where there is a demonstrated need.…

The analysis in this article is directed to the basic issues: Are IQ tests biased against Black children? And are IQ tests valid for the placement of Black children in special programs? The research evidence on these major issues is ambiguous and contradictory. (Author/CTM)