The current study examines the views of experts in the science of mental abilities about the primacy and uniqueness of "g" and the social implications of ability testing, and compares their responses to the views of a group of non-expert psychologists. Results indicate expert consensus that "g" is an important, non-trivial determinant (or at least…

Intelligence tests deserve careful examination before continuing to blindly promote their use as instruments of power over the lives of many Americans. (DM)

The claim that tests of intelligence and abilities are the best predictors of academic success fails to examine closely the important moderator variable as test and criterion characteristics rather than as person characteristics. (EH)

Argues that standardized IQ, aptitude, and achievement tests are biased against persons of low socioeconomic status. (IRT)

Admissions officers are convinced that the Scholastic Aptitude Test offers at least a better clue than high school grades alone as to how well prospective students are likely to perform in their first year of college. Bias is seen as only one of many explanations for score differences among groups. (MLW)

A public school district in Alabama uses the Otis Lennon School Ability Test (OLSAT) in place of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (Revised) (WISC-R) as a screening device for students who are referred for possible special education placement. To determine the relationship between the two tests, Pearson product moment correlation…

Regression lines for the prediction of Wide Range Achievement Test (WRAT) scores by Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) and WISC Revised (WISC-R) intelligence quotients were compared across race, by the Potoff technique. Subjects were 36 black and 30 white children who were referred for psychological evaluation because of learning or…

Examines whether individual intelligence tests such as the WISC-R are biased against Hispanic school-aged children. Discusses three common but faulty notions of test bias, and advances a psychometric definition of bias. Analyzes evidence regarding external and internal validity. Presents guidelines for intellectual assessment of bilingual…

Six current issues in the use of tests are examined in this paper. Are the tests used in education valid? In general and to a reasonably satisfactory extent they are. Is the emphasis these tests place on cognitive achievements a serious limitation? Because of the basic and pervasive role of cognition in human affairs, and in the absence of any…

The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) and Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC) were used to predict achievement (measured by the Stanford Achievement Test) for 200 students with mild handicaps, in grades K through 6 in a rural western school district. Males scored significantly higher than females for every…

The learning potential (LP) procedure represents an alternative method of measuring ability of Spanish-speaking students who tend to score low on traditional IQ tests. This study sought to determine the relative predictive power of LP and IQ measures on achievement of 188 first through sixth grade Spanish-speaking students. Subjects participated…

Samples of Anglo, Black, Mexican-American, and Papago Indian students (N=260 per group) were administered the Metropolitan Achievement Test and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R). Various concepts of cultural fairness were identified from the literature and then used to design analyses of these data. Regression equations…

The controversial and complex issues regarding the effects of educational and psychological testing on the education of minority group children in America are discussed. Although the focus is primarily on black students, the issues discussed are equally valid for all minority populations in the American public schools. The articles in the book…

This book addresses the question of what tests are measures of. Intelligence, achievement, and personality tests not based on empirical investigation have questionable validity. Some researchers now suspect that almost all tests given to students in all subjects, as well as general tests of intelligence and personality, are essentially language…