Three standard assessment instruments (Rorschach, Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory and 16PF) were administered to 12 participating Rosebud Sioux Indians--6 males, 6 females. Reports were generated for each instrument. Consensual and unique concepts contained in all the reports were analyzed in order to describe the contents. Six judges, all…

The author discusses his observations from administering such tests as the Denver Developmental Screening Test (DDST) to young disabled children in Costa Rica. Cultural influences and nuances of translations are seen to affect performance. Factors involved in remediation programing are also noted. A final consideration is the "barrio…

Twenty-four French-speaking students in a northeast Ontario (Canada) elementary school were administered an intelligence test in grades three, five, and eight. Significant differences among the three testings raise concerns about the practice of intelligence testing among cultural minority populations. Such tests should not be administered to all…

The Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) developed for use in Nigeria was compared with the Cognitive Abilities Test (COGAT), a group intelligence test developed in the United States, using 210 Nigerian high school students. Results suggest that the COGAT is not suitable for use in Nigeria. (SLD)

Existing research indicates that there is a disproportionate number of students with cultural and linguistic differences, English Language Learners (ELL), who are misidentified as learning disabled when their problems are due to cultural and/or linguistic differences. As a consequence, these students do not receive appropriate services. With the…

Findings are reviewed from a descriptive study which evaluated special education placement of Hispanic students. A clinical case study approach was used to analyze student characteristics from individual program folders, and policy and practice were examined. The appropriateness of the data, expertise of the professionals, and the role of the…

The paper discusses the effects of a specific culture, in this case Chilean, on bilingual handicapped students' responses to test items. Even though the tests used were Spanish translations, Ss' responses were influenced by lifestyles, the educational system, and the physical resources available in the classroom setting. Evidence is cited to…

Translating achievement tests and questionnaires prepared in one language and culture for use in other languages and cultures has been a long-standing practice. Unfortunately, there is considerable technical evidence that suggests that the quality of test translations varies considerably, and too often the translations are not very good, thus…

This report describes a project to develop more effective types of assessment in high school classes. The targeted population was high school students in two different middle-class communities in the northern suburbs of Chicago (Illinois). One site in a very stable, homogeneous community, predominantly white, contains 1,155 students. The other…

This fact sheet lists problems involved in the use of standardized tests. It is argued that standardized tests are not really fair and helpful evaluation tools because they reward the ability to answer superficial questions quickly and do not measure the ability to think or create in any field. They also assume that all test takers have been…