This paper makes a start in the search for a fair test of prelingually deaf children's short-term visual memory ability by exploring the coding problems presented to them by the traditional digit-span test. It suggests that more research be devoted to the problem of stimulus-response compatibility. (Suthor/SJL)

Results showed that the error rate in the summary code for the revised edition of the self-directed search (SDS) was significantly lower than the error rate for the original SDS. High-point-code error rates between the two forms were similar. (Author)

Suggests that the principal conclusions in the earlier report regarding the relative effects and sex restrictiveness of norm-scored instruments and raw-scored instruments are not warranted by the study design. Alternative approaches and additional research are presented. (Author)

Discusses the productiveness of international comparison of student achievement and of international measures of educational achievement. (Author/IRT)

Defines and demonstrates a framework for studying differential item functioning and differential test functioning for tests that are intended to be multidimensional. The procedure, which is illustrated with simulated data, is an extension of the unidimensional differential functioning of items and tests approach (N. Raju, W. van der Linden, and P.…

Studied whether the predictive validity of the test given at the end of Dutch primary education and hence the primary school's advice on secondary school selection was the same for second generation immigrant (SGI) and native Dutch (ND) students. Findings show test bias in the examination and have implications for the evaluation of SGI students.…

Sexual identity development and environmental factors are central to the career assessment of lesbian, homosexual, and bisexual clients. Counselor biases and biases in career assessment tools must be recognized and dealt with. (SK)

Formulas for computing the exact signed and unsigned areas between two item characteristic curves (ICCs) are presented. It is further shown that when the "c" parameters are unequal, the area between two ICCs is infinite. The significance of the exact area measures for item bias research is discussed. (Author)

Florida's testing program appears to be counterproductive to increasing the number of minority teachers. The high school diploma test, the ACT/SAT, university and teacher education admission score requirements, the "rising junior" test, and teacher certification and examination represent serious obstacles to minority students who want to teach.…

In using preemployment tests, special attention must be paid to issues of bias, legal rulings, validity, generalization, exaggerated expectations, test quality, misuse, publishers' claims, alternative assessment, and honesty tests. (Author/SK)

Three studies investigating the existence of sex bias in the grading of undergraduate students, by examining interrater reliability for blind and non-blind grading, are reported. Negative evidence found in the results and the confusing picture presented by previous research indicate little firm evidence of sex bias in grading. (Author/MSE)

Explores possible reasons for the gender gap in scores on the mathematics section of the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT-M) including test bias, variability in scores, the timed nature of the test, and environmental factors. Contains 29 references. (Author/ASK)

Explores why underrepresented minorities test relatively low on college admission tests and how the tests can be improved to predict student success. Argues that the system must address differences in backgrounds, learning styles, and study habits. Outlines a research agenda to arrive at a solution. (EV)

Summarizes the major conclusions from "Bias in Mental Testing" (BIMT) published in 1980, and evaluates writing on test bias published since BIMT. Results show that empirical research to date consistently finds that standardized cognitive tests are not biased in terms of predictive and construct validity. (Author/MKA)

A bias-corrected estimator of noncentrality parameters of covariance structure models is discussed. The approach represents an application of the bootstrap methodology for purposes of bias correction, and utilizes the relation between average of resample conventional noncentrality parameter estimates and their sample counterpart. The…