The International Test Commission formed a 13-person committee of psychologists representing a number of international organizations to prepare a set of guidelines for adapting educational and psychological tests. The committee has worked for 3 years to produce near final drafts of 22 guidelines organized into 4 categories: (1) context; (2)…

The premise that there are no valid and reliable psychological tests for use with Indochinese refugees is discussed. The history of the use of tests in the United States has been promulgated as being beneficial to the minority group members exposed to them without revealing their underlying discriminatory uses. Only the System of Multicultural…

The classification of intelligence has been a prime interest to many for over three-quarters of a century. The Wechsler scales of intelligence and the development of factor analysis have both played major roles in the shaping of psychometric thought. An examination of this joint history by means of a review of the factor analytic studies of the…

This essay shows that the adoption of intelligence tests by the schools was a complex development. Tests were adopted during the 1920s as part of the reform program fashioned by the network of applied psychologists and school people. While the network itself often viewed testing as a means to improve the schools and society, immigrants and blacks…

This paper discusses the impact of emerging developmental skills on preschoolers' test performance in reference to preoperational thinking, behavioral controls, and language skills. It is emphasized that some behaviors that occur during the preschool period may suggest pathology when observed in older children but are normal for preschoolers. A…

The standardized IQ tests which are in use in the schools are scientifically and pedagogically without merit. The construct "intelligence" is a hypothetical notion whose valid expression has yet to be born. IQ tests and the construct of intelligence can be discarded at present, and teaching strategies would be unaffected. To successful teachers…

Parents are often asked to complete behavioral checklists and personality inventories regarding their children when they bring them in for psychotherapy or neuropsychological testing. The Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), the Conners' Parent Report Scale (CPRS), and the Personality Inventory for Children (PIC) are frequently used tests. Some…

The Presidential Address at the 1986 National Council on Measurement in Education Annual Meeting argues that measurement specialists have tended to set unrealistic aspirations for the role tests play. The conjunctive decision making model is discussed and the use of data in the conjunctive and compensatory decision making models is examined. (JAZ)

Patterns of responses to the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) that typify deliberate deception of others (faking good) were studied using 100 undergraduates at the University of Alabama (Tuscaloosa) who were given extra course credit for participation in the study. Females constituted 73% of the final subject pool. Each…

This study sought to assess the effects of psychological warm-up on the verbal creative thinking abilities of first-grade children. The subjects were 96 black first-grade children enrolled in two schools in Athens and Atlanta, Georgia. Both schools are located in poor neighborhoods. Children were randomly assigned to control, physical warm-up, and…

Legal issues at the state and constitutional levels and associated misconceptions related to written preemployment integrity tests are addressed. Common misconceptions include the beliefs that: (1) such tests fall within the purview of state antipolygraph statutes; (2) unfair discrimination doctrines are violated by integrity testing; and (3)…

Emerging areas and critical problems related to computer-based testing are identified. Topics covered include adaptive testing; calibration; item selection; multidimensional items; uses of information processing theory; relation to cognitive psychology; and tests of short-term and spatial memory, perceptual speed and accuracy, and movement…

The rapid increase in the United States' racial and ethnic minority populations has accompanied a mental health revolution. Traditional models previously used to explain normality and abnormality are being questioned. Therefore, ways in which school psychologists can become more aware of their own cultural background, and thus provide caring,…

Cultural differences between the American (dominant) and Hispanic (minority) cultures and inadequate mastery of the English language are the most salient problems in measuring psychological adjustment among Hispanics in the United States. Some dimensions of psychological adjustment (perception of reality, anxiety, self-esteem, depression,…