This publication presents the proceedings of a conference on African Americans and educational equity in the southern United States. A brief overview opens the publication followed by information on Jean Fairfax, recipient at the conference of the John A. Griffin Award for Advancing Equity in Education. Other presentations are included as follows:…

This review analyzes traditional standardized assessment practices to determine if they recognize cultural, linguistic, socioeconomic, and disability differences. It then examines the extent to which these assessment practices are being used in transition for decision-making and predicting post-school outcomes. The review begins with a historical…

The effects of testing on Native Americans and the outcomes of test use are discussed. Native Americans are exposed to a wide variety of tests during their lifetimes, in Bureau of Indian Affairs Schools, in high schools, in employment, and for college entrance and placement. Too much reliance can be placed on tests taken by Native American youth…

This study was undertaken to shed light on problems concerning the construction and use of a common test battery for various South African population groups. Specifically, the psychometric suitability for use with Indian and Black pupils, of the Junior Aptitude Tests (JAT), which were standardized for White pupils in Standard 7 was studied. The…

The Texas Academic Skills Program (TASP) is a statewide program designed to ensure that all students attending public colleges and universities have the basic reading, mathematics, and writing skills necessary to perform effectively at the college level. All entering first-time freshmen are required to take the TASP test, which has a basic skills…

This package contains articles in three general areas: items covering measurement topics; brief and practical guides on measurement techniques; and professional reading on broader assessment issues. The purpose of these publications by "Set" is to provide research information to teachers. The initial article, "Overview of Issues in…

The report summarizes findings and recommendations of a California Task Force which arose out of a California court decision (Larry P. versus Riles) which prohibits the use of intelligence tests for assessing black pupils to determine their placement in special education programs and requires alternative means of assessment. Seven major…

The empirical validity of generalizability theory was investigated by applying two three-facet designs to data obtained in 1988 from administration of the Scientific Thinking and Research Skill Test (STRST). The decision validity of the STRST was also examined. Subjects were 125 fifth-grade and 125 sixth-grade students who were administered the…

Mental health clinical services research has emphasized the urgency of developing new psychometric instruments for non-biased psychological assessment of minority and non-minority children of diverse cultural groups in the United States. Background multicultural standardization and validation information is presented for Tell-Me-A-Story (TEMAS)--a…

To alleviate the possibility that Florida's College Level Academic Skills Test (CLAST) is biased against non-native English speakers because of its time limits, additional time was allowed for some samples. CLAST, designed to measure communicative and computational competence in college sophomores, has four subtests: reading, writing, computation,…

This paper is a brief psychometric review of the Cooperative Preschool Inventory (CPI-R), Revised Edition intended to supplement the review of CPI in the "Seventh Mental Measurements Yearbook." The 1970 revision of the CPI-R is a brief screening test for teacher-administered testing of three-to-six-year-old children. It is intended to…

Based on telephone interviews with educational officials from all 50 states and the District of Columbia, an overview of the use and impact of standardized tests in the United States during the 1986-87 school year was developed. In addition to interviewing officials from all state departments of education, officials from 56 sample school districts…

The Ball Aptitude Battery (BAB) was examined for item bias in a sample of 577 high school students in which males and females, as well as three ethnic groups (Blacks, Whites, and Hispanics) were represented. The objectives of the investigation were: (1) to assess the level of interrater agreement for the judgmental method; (2) to find the level of…

The study investigated the issue of differential selection of foils (incorrect responses) with Black English structures by black and white examinees. Linguistic research revealed systematic differences between Black English and Standard American English. Grammatical and phonological features were important distinctions. Five categories of Black…

The predictive validity of the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) aptitude test has been investigated for foreign students at the University of Kansas. A total of 148 students whose first language was other than English were selected for this study. Verbal and quantitative scores on the GRE, field of study, sex, and year of initial enrollment were…