In the attempt to identify or prevent unfair tests, both quantitative analyses and logical evaluation are often used. For the most part, fairness evaluation is a pragmatic attempt at determining whether procedural or substantive due process has been accorded to either a group of test takers or an individual. In both the individual and comparative…

This article presents a meta-analysis of the effects of examiner familiarity/unfamiliarity on children's performance during individual testing. Data came from 22 controlled studies involving 1489 subjects. In a typical study, the effect of examiner familiarity raised test performance by .35 standard deviations. Differential performance favoring…

This publication reviews issues and processes in the quest for less-biased, least-biased, non-biased assessment. It is intended to aid the school psychologist in assisting all individuals in placement or program decisions for school-age children. The first section articulates the common sources of bias in assessment and identifies concepts…

This report lists various factors of psychological testing which might be more relevant and appropriate for elementary school age children in such areas as Appalachia. The areas covered are group individual testing, individual intelligence testing, achievement testing, special clinical testing, social maturity, and personality evaluation…

This article presents a quantitative synthesis of examiner familiarity effects on Caucasian and minority students' test performance. Fourteen controlled studies were coded in terms of methodological quality (high vs. low) and race-ethnicity (Caucasian vs. Black and Hispanic). An analogue to analysis of variance conducted on weighted unbiased…

Test publishers and the users of standardized IQ and summary-score achievement tests have failed to consider the problems associated with testing the minority child. Since the results of these tests are used to determine the education, economic, and social future of children, a harder look at the minority child's cultural background is essential.…

This article presents the background, the history, and the implications of the Larry P. v Riles decisions in 1972 and in 1979 in which a federal district court enjoined California from using any standardized intelligence tests to assess Black children for eligibility for classes of educable mentally retarded. (Author/CTM)

The analysis in this article is directed to the basic issues: Are IQ tests biased against Black children? And are IQ tests valid for the placement of Black children in special programs? The research evidence on these major issues is ambiguous and contradictory. (Author/CTM)

The Larry P. decision is criticized with reference to: (1) predictive tests and the standard curriculum; (2) the court's portrayal of special classes; (3) the effects of the 1972 decision on special class enrollment; (4) semantic confusion; and (5) the impact on Black children who experience academic difficulty. (Author/CTM)

The National Commission on Testing and Public Policy is conducting a 3-year policy-oriented investigation of the role of tests, especially standardized, norm-referenced tests, in the allocation of educational, training, and employment opportunities in the United States today. This document reports on the first hearing, which focused on the…