Numerous strategies have been used throughout the years to test cultural groups. This paper grew out of the need to find and use standardized tests that would depict accurately the performance of various cultural groups in America. In order to make judgments about performance, it is wise to examine the theoretical structure from which most of the existing tests were developed. Accordingly, the paper traces the development of the various strategies and theoretical structures, explaining why they have met with limited success. Through a paradigmatic analysis of the literature, it identifies the existing testing paradigm as a monocultural one, and it relates the various efforts to produce a culture-fair test. The paradigmatic analysis is extended to encompass a proposition, based upon the coalescence of the scientific (theoretical and measurement) and policy contexts. The analysis suggests a procedure by which tests can be developed and/or evaluated if they are to depict accurately the performance of various cultural groups. (Author)