Alternate admission systems are reviewed in respect to the minority applicant in an attempt to assess the nature of the bias frequently referred to in connection with standardized testing. The connection between the use of the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) as a standardized test and the admission system was explored, concluding that the role and importance of the GRE as an admission criterion was determined by the type of admission system adopted. The psychometric definitions of test fairness (bias) were also reviewed, noting that there are several conflicting definitions of test fairness and that these closely parallel the types of admission systems currently in use. The validity of the GRE was examined, pointing out that the validity, as with most standardized tests, varied with the validity criterion used and various other factors. The need for local departmental validity studies was stressed in addition to the need for special studies for minority groups. Of the three major sources of potential bias common to standardized testing, content bias, environmental bias, and utilization bias, the last was noted as bearing most directly on the concern for testing as a barrier to the admission of minority students into educational institutions. The question of testing as a barrier, in the last analysis, rests with the values which dominate the selected selection of admission criteria in general. These criteria, usually selected with an eye to the outcome of an educational process, are perceived as the necessary prerequisite to a successful academic experience. (Author/RC)