In 1965, McCay Vernon drove a stake through the heart of the long-established "truth" that deaf people were inferior to hearing people. Launched by Aristotle, emboldened by the 1880 Conference of Milan, and reiterated in the twentieth century through the biased research of many psychologists, this falsehood persisted until the publication of this…

A number of studies in the United States have found that Jews obtain higher average IQs than white gentiles. This paper examines whether this is also the case in Britain. Three early studies are summarized that found that Jews in Britain have mean IQs in the range of 110-113. New data are presented for two nationally representative samples of 7-16…

School psychology, defined as the study and application of psychological principles to the educational setting, encompasses the study of learning and cognition, development, social behavior, individual differences, and measurement and statistics. The purpose of this paper is to provide an historical account of the origins of educational psychology…

The cultural test bias hypothesis represents the contention that all ethnic or racial group differences on mental tests are due to inherent, artifactual biases produced within the tests through flawed psychometric methodology. This address focuses on an empirical evaluation of the cultural test bias hypothesis, especially emphasizing the construct…

Updates previous literature reviews by reporting recent findings about the Wechsler Intelligence scales and other performance tests with American Indians. Discusses test bias and the unwitting role of clinical psychologists in preserving the American Indian status quo through testing. Suggests ways to increase awareness of responsible and ethical…

Argues that if a testing situation is not similar to situations in which a child regularly performs linguistically, the test's ecological validity is compromised and its results must be viewed skeptically. (FL)

The article reviews the application of Raven's Progressive Matrices (RPM) on the performance of the sexes based on scholarly achievements. It also compares the result of the RPM to Standard Progressive Matrices and to Colored Progressive Matrices. (TLJ)

Summarizes some prevailing policies and practices important to the assessment of mental retardation in Australia, France, the United States, and Zimbabwe. Discusses international standards for diagnosis and classification of mental disorders and cross-national similarities and differences. Also discusses implications for test development. (SLD)

Investigates three types of bad science: (1) cultural prejudice based on scientific errors (polygenism, phrenology, reification through intelligence testing); (2) unethical science (Tuskegee syphilis experiments, tobacco companies and research); and (3) unwitting errors (pesticides, chlorofluorocarbons). (Contains 50 references.) (SK)

The first eight chapters of this book introduce the topic of test bias. The basic issues involved in criticisms of mental tests and arguments about test bias include: (1) variety of tests and test items; (2) scaling of scores and the form of the distribution of abilities in the population; (3) quantification of subpopulation differences; (4)…

The analogy of a compatible marriage is used to describe the relationship between gifted programing and test instrumentation for identification of giftedness. The interaction of programing and instrument development is explored from an historical perspective and from the personal viewpoint of a researcher/practitioner. (Author/JW)

The role of the school psychologist in the U.S. Virgin Islands is that of psychometrician primarily. The critical school problems in the Virgin Islands are similar to those of other multilingual/multicultural societies. Underfunding and understaffing provide little opportunity for school psychologists to function as therapists. (BW)

Recent literature suggests a causal link between malnutrition and impaired cognitive development. A selective literature review indicates that the presence or absence of such a link cannot be established. A reanalysis of an experiment indicated after four years of treatment there was no association between cognitive and nutritional status.…

This paper presents a description of four schools of thought on the nature of intelligence, some findings that have emerged from them, and an indication of how these findings reveal a common core of generalizations across the various schools. (Author/SJL)

Summarizes Arthur Jensen's theories on IQ, heritability, and Black intelligence and reviews some responses to Jensen. (JLF)