Aberrant behavior refers to any type of unusual behavior that would not be expected under normal circumstances. In educational and psychological testing, such behaviors have the potential to severely bias the aberrant examinee's test score while also jeopardizing the test scores of countless others. It is therefore crucial that aberrant examinees…

The tests we use to evaluate student achievement may well be sound measures of what students know, but they are faulty indicators at best of how well they have been taught. A remedy to this this situation of judging teachers by the performance of their students on high-stakes tests may be in hand already. We should look to the methods successfully…

Differential item functioning (DIF) analysis is a key component in the evaluation of the fairness and validity of educational tests. The goal of this project was to review the status of ETS DIF analysis procedures, focusing on three aspects: (a) the nature and stringency of the statistical rules used to flag items, (b) the minimum sample size…

In this research investigation of score comparability for language minority students (English language learners [ELLs] and former English language learners), we examined 3 indicators of score comparability (reliability, internal test structure, and differential item functioning) for 4th and 8th grade students who took the NCLB-mandated content…

Research studies have shown that a smaller percentage of students with learning disabilities participate in state assessments than do their peers without learning disabilities. Furthermore, there is almost always a performance gap between these groups of students on these assessments. It is important to evaluate whether a performance gap on a…

Examines the legal issues concerning (1) cultural bias in educational tests; (2) the validity of employment tests; and (3) the disclosure of test materials. Discusses the legal interpretations of psychometric concepts that have arisen from recent litigation. (Author/GC)

Recounts the negative experiences two cities had with districtwide testing programs. (IRT)

In the United States, standardized educational tests have been used for assessment purposes in grades K through 12 almost since the inception of the testing movement in the early 1900s. Because test-based assessment can have wide-ranging positive or negative effects on K-12 students, the test user must ensure that the tests used for assessment…

Arguing that most standardized tests are biased against minorities, especially black Americans, several alternatives and guidelines are suggested to alter the present unfair administration, interpretation, and testing process. (EH)

This paper presents the purpose, format, topics of seminar sessions, and participant recommendations of a conference on educational testing processes and their relation to blacks. The conference was held to familiarize participants with research data demonstrating the fallacies and inconsistencies inherent in the testing process as it relates to…

Four confusing issues that have delayed progress toward an awareness that testing is not a source of unfairness for minority students are discussed: (1) the assumptions underlying most of our psychometric manipulations are often not acknowledged or understood; (2) the extent of the objectivity of psychometrics is frequently exaggerated; (3) the…

The author of "The Tyranny of Testing" discusses his objections to standardized testing. (IRT)

Questions the basis on which certain decisions are made and conclusions reached in schools with regard to intelligence testing. Discusses three distinct flaws in intelligence testing and how such tests must be designed to account for individual differences. (Author/RK)

A defense is presented against the criticism that school psychologists who critically evaluate the System of Multicultural Pluralistic Assessment (SOMPA) are biased (TM 504 174). (MH)

This Digest overviews legal challenges in five areas of test use for decision-making in schools: ability tracking, placement in special education classes, test scores as college admissions criteria, test disclosure, and teacher competency testing. Cases illustrating these challenges are described and include: Hobson v. Hansen (1967), Moses v.…