Cultural Bias in Testing of Intelligence and Personality

Reynolds, Cecil R.

doi:10.1016/b0080-4270(73)00105-x

Cited by 7 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 141 publications

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“…Cultural bias could potentially exist in any kind of test including tests of ability, aptitude, or achievement. Reynolds (1998) suggested three ways that a test or test item might be biased, consisting of (a) the content or topic of a question, (b) the existence of one correct answer, and (c) the use of a limited and specific vocabulary. Add these to the ways in which Cole and Moss (1989) suggested a test or item could be biased, which are (a) constructs in context, (b) content and format, (c) test administration and scoring, (d) internal test structure, and (e) external test relationships and there is a formidable list of possibilities for cultural test bias.…”

Section: What Is Cultural Bias?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Cultural Bias in Testing

Kruse

2016

Update: Applications of Research in Music Education

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The findings and discussions related to cultural bias in testing have in no way been unanimous. However, the considerations of this area of inquiry may possess meaningful implications for educators of any subject. In this review of literature, I describe the issues, research, and arguments surrounding cultural bias in testing and discuss implications for the field of music education. A working description of cultural bias in testing for the purpose of this article involves the notions of (a) significantly different results for definable subgroups from apparently similar ability levels and (b) issues with the fair and equitable interpretation and use of test results. Applications of general education scholarship to music education settings include investigations and perceptions of cultural bias as well as suggestions for improved fairness consisting of addressing group differences, offering diverse ways to perform, discouraging misuse, and accommodating for differences.

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Section: What Is Cultural Bias?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Cultural Bias in Testing

Kruse

2016

Update: Applications of Research in Music Education

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“…The suitability of individual items on the exam to all audiences taking part is an important factor here. If one cultural group has more familiarity with the test item (task) or its topic (content), then it is said to house cultural bias which impacts the exam's validity as a whole, but in particular its content validity (Sosa, 2012;Reynolds, 1998) -the phenomenon this paper investigates.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

An examination of cultural bias in IELTS Task 1 non-process writing prompts: a UAE perspective

Freimuth

2016

Learning and Teaching in Higher Education: Gulf Perspectives

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This study analyzed 24 IELTS Task One (data explanation) prompts for task type, diagram type, subject matter, level of critical thought, and geographical references, in order to determine whether Emirati university students' anecdotal claims of cultural bias on the IELTS academic writing exam (as experienced by the researcher in the past decade of teaching IELTS in the United Arab Emirates) are valid. The analysis found that the majority of the task types (88%) were non-process in nature (i.e. required the description of data in the form of a chart or graph, rather than the description of a process); 40% of the non-process prompts consisted of more than one diagram. The analysis revealed that 33% of the non-process prompts included bar graphs and 29% included line graphs. Pie charts appeared in 25% of the prompts and tables in only 17%. An Emirati student English preparatory program survey indicated the pie chart as the easiest to understand -a finding that may highlight a difference between the most commonly used IELTS prompt and the students' prompt preference. A content analysis of topics found a high percentage (58%) of subject matter related to the social sciences, with 79% of the geographical references pertaining to Western contexts. An analysis of the amount of critical thought needed for graph interpretation revealed 52% of non-process prompts required some form of critical thought. The study therefore found that the cultural bias perceived by Emirati students has some validity, given the students' socio-cultural and educational background.

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“…About the characteristics of tests, their authoritative report (Neisser et al, 1996, p. 94) states, "none...contributes substantially to the Black/White differential in intelligence test scores," contrary to the CTBH. The consensus, then, among those actually conducting research on intelligence is that the CTBH is unsubstantiated (see also Reynolds, 1998Reynolds, , 1999.…”

Section: Other Conclusion That Mental Tests Are Not Biasedmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bias in mental testing since Bias in Mental Testing.

Brown

Reynolds²,

Whitaker³

1999

School Psychology Quarterly

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but the reasons for these differences are an ongoing source o f controversy. One popular and longstanding claim is that mean differences are caused by "cultural bias" in the tests. Arthur Jensen exhaustively review ed the empirical literature on the issue o f test bias, which resulted in his seminal book, B ias in M en ta l Testing (BIM T), published in 1980. On the basis o f empirical criteria for evaluating test bias, Jensen con cluded that standardized aptitude/ability tests predict equally w ell for American-born, Eng lish-speaking majority and minority subgroups and measure similar constructs. This paper summarizes the major conclusions from BIM T and evaluates writing on test bias published since BIMT. W e conclude that empirical research to date consistently finds that standardized cognitive tests are not biased in terms o f predictive and construct validity. Furthermore, con tinued claim s o f test bias, which appear in academic journals, the popular media, and som e p sychology textbooks, are not empirically justified. T hese claim s o f bias should be met with skepticism and evaluated critically according to established scientific principles.The interpretation of mean differences in mental test scores for native-born, Eng lish-speaking ethnic/racial subgroups is a source of major professional and public controversy (e.g., Jacoby & Glauberman, 1995). According to the cultural test bias The authors thank Len L ecci and an anonym ous review er for helpful com m ents on an earlier draft, and Craig Frisby for his thoughtful discussion s, suggestions, and great tolerance during d evelopm ent o f this article. The authors o f course accept responsibility for all content. A ddress corresp on d en ce to either R obert T. B row n , D epartm ent o f P sy c h o lo g y , U N C W , W ilm ington, NC 2 8 4 0 3 -3 2 9 7 (brow n@ uncw il.edu) or C ecil R. R eynolds, Department o f Educational P sych ology, Texas A & M U niversity, C ollege Station, TX 7 7 8 4 3 -4 2 2 5 (crrh@ bluebon.net).

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Cultural Bias in Testing of Intelligence and Personality

Cited by 7 publications

References 141 publications

Cultural Bias in Testing

Cultural Bias in Testing

An examination of cultural bias in IELTS Task 1 non-process writing prompts: a UAE perspective

Bias in mental testing since Bias in Mental Testing.

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