Using both the Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales (BARS) and the Purdue University Scales, 727 undergraduates rated 32 instructors. The BARS had less halo effect, more leniency error, and lower interrater reliability. Both formats were valid. The two tests did not differ in rate discrimination or susceptibility to rating bias. (Author/GDC)

Discusses the current practice in the U.S. of standardized testing of teachers as a response to the perceived failures of public schools. Focuses on the position that this practice reduces the already low percentage of minority teachers in the schools. Reviews testing practices in various states and the consequences encountered. (SA)

Argues in defense of Rubin's CCAI, that Powell and Avila's study did not use adequate controls to assess the instrument's reliability. Asserts that their study simply discovered differences in communication competence among ethnic groups. (MS)

The controversy over intelligence testing is more often influenced by political considerations than empirical research. A survey of 1,020 experts found that a majority agree that (1) intelligence can be defined; (2) heredity plays a role in individual and group IQ differences; and (3) intelligence testing in schools should continue at its present…

Reports possible validity of particular American Indian cognitive style based on the Bannatyne categories of the Wechsler Scales. Found statistically significant pattern of spatial ability, sequential ability, and verbal conceptual ability in 75 junior and senior high school Yakima Indian students. (LFL)

Describes the diversity of Hispanic Americans and their high school preparation for college. Their sociocultural characteristics and the predictive value of grades and college admission tests are discussed. Recommends important steps in counseling college-bound Hispanics. Gives list of organizations and resources for counselors. (SA)

To determine the need for developing appropriate programs for bilingual/multicultural children, the following factors are discussed: over-representation of minority children in special education programs, biased assessment, negative labeling, low teacher expectations, lack of minority special education, inappropriate programs, lack of teacher…

This article discusses the psychoeducational assessment of limited English proficient Hispanic youngsters in the American school. Emphasis is placed on the use of nonverbal measures of intelligence and the importance of language and academic evaluations in both English and Spanish in order to obtain comparative data. (Author/LMO)

The purpose of this study was to screen for gender-based (female-male) and ethnic-based (Hispanic-White) differential item functioning (DIF) in the 2003 Idaho Standards Achievement Tests of reading, language arts and mathematics at grades 4, 8 and 10. The vendor, the Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA), assembled the computer-administered…

This study was designed to answer two key questions about the fixed portions of the fourth, eighth, and tenth grade spring 2003 Idaho Standards Achievement Tests (ISAT) in Reading, Language Usage and Mathematics: (1) To what extent do test items exhibit substantive differences in functioning across student groups formed based on ethnicity and…

This digest focuses on academic testing and American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) students. Ideally, test results should be used to improve student learning. Proponents of high-stakes testing say it is needed to measure student achievement and school quality and to hold students and teachers accountable. High-stakes testing is also used to…

Evaluating the comparability of a test administered in different languages is a difficult, if not impossible, task. Comparisons are problematic because observed differences in test performance between groups who take different language versions of a test could be due to a difference in difficulty between the tests, to cultural differences in test…

The SAT I: Reasoning Test actually predicts how well females will do in college better than it predicts for males. Results from validity studies that have been conducted with hundreds of colleges and universities and examined by ETS and external researchers consistently confirm that the SAT correlation with both freshman GPA and individual course…

Examines potential sources of bias in aptitude and achievement testing of minority and, particularly, Black students. Holds that bias in standardized tests cannot be properly understood without reference to the socioeconomic matrix from which it has evolved. (Author/GC)

This study of test bias used Black, Oriental, Chicano, and White students to answer two questions: (1) Is grade point average prediction for Chicanos and Orientals similar to prediction for Blacks and Whites? and (2) Does major field mediate ethnic differences in test performance? (Author/BW)