An item content criterion, independent of the test psychometric characteristics, of classifying items as biased is described. It was used with a sample of female adults in a training program for administrative secretaries. The minority group in the study were Hispanic immigrants. The majority group was a mixture of Blacks, English speaking…

The transcript of a six-part National Public Radio broadcast on standardized testing is presented. The first part focuses on the reasons tests are administered; these reasons are discussed by proponents and opponents of testing. Part Two contains a discussion of the possible bias of tests, and their validity. The third part discusses the…

Differential test performance by undergraduate males and females enrolled in a developmental educational psychology course (n=167) was reported on a quantitative examination as a function of item arrangement. Males were expected to perform better than females on tests whose items arranged easy to hard. Plake and Ansorge (1982) speculated this may…

The literature on item bias, i.e., the question of whether some items in tests favor one cultural group over another cultural group due to irrelevant factors, is reviewed and evaluated. All known references through 1981 are described including a large number of unpublished reports. Each method is described and the criticisms that have appeared in…

Explores the relationship between socioeconomic status and the school readiness of kindergarten children as measured by four frequently used readiness tests. Results indicate that low-socioeconomic status children, regardless of sex, score significantly less well than middle socioeconomic status children. (Author)

Recounts the negative experiences two cities had with districtwide testing programs. (IRT)

State wide, nation-wide, and international tests of students' knowledge hinder the creative talents of students by forcing homogeneity instead of variety in curriculum and teaching. (DE)

The paper reviews some of the research literature relating to self concept and deafness. In summarizing the relevant research, attention was given to the types of questions to which researchers have sought answers, the theoretical orientations which have guided investigations, and the kinds of methodological problems which have characterized…

One of a series of instructional packets to aid schools in reducing sex stereotyping, this guide for teachers (junior high and above) is designed to make students aware of the role interest tests can play in the process of choosing an occupation to prepare for. Focus is on interpreting test results in such a way that past societal expectations are…

The implications of standardized testing for minority students are explored. Test terminology is described in terms of objectivity, standardization, reliability, and validity. Primarily, however, the paper reviews the objectivity of standardized testing, that is, of those tests which are either norm-referenced or criterion-referenced. The use of…

The manual provides vocational educators with information and guidelines regarding the design and use of questionnaires and interviews for gathering data and the construction, tabulation, and analysis of both open ended and forced response survey instruments. The first of nine chapters deals with surveys as a data collection technique, discusses…

Contained in this packet on standardized tests and testing in English is a miscellany of materials written by students, teachers, researchers, test makers, and others about the uses, abuses, and misuses of standardized tests. The materials are not intended to be a definitive study of the standardized test in English but rather to provoke…

This paper, from the Workshop Center for Open Education, deals with the problems of recognizing and dealing effectively with reading difficulties. The introductory sections explain the problems of identifying the poor reader and define the concept of reading. The next section investigates the following biases that are prevalent in reading tests:…

Test bias has traditionally been defined in terms of an outside criterion measure of the performance being predicted by the test. In test construction, where criterion-related validity data are usually not collected until after the test is completed, assessment of bias in the absence of outside criteria had become a vital issue. Here, an unbiased…