This paper investigates the nature of ethnic prejudice and examines the treatment of four ethnic minorities in the United States--American Indians, blacks, Chinese Americans, and Mexican Americans. The hypothesis is that, despite inequality, ethnic minorities in the United States enjoy a better lot than ethnic minorities elsewhere. Two forms of…

This report seeks to answer two questions: (1) What has been the impact of litigation, and especially Ford Foundation supported litigation, on the women's rights movement? (2) How effective is litigation as a tool in promoting equality for women? The analyses, conclusions, and recommendations are based on interviews with the Ford grantees and…

As a followup study, the academic performance of 120 black students who entered North Carolina State University as new freshmen in the fall of 1970, 1971, and 1972 was examined in order to determine whether the University Predicted Grade Average (UPGA) equation is biased for black students. Major findings are: (1) for both marginal black students…

This paper discusses some of the problems involved in the testing of minority group children, focusing on the testing of bilingual minorities and emphasizing the special problems involved in testing Hispanic children. Considered are a variety of ways in which tests have been misused and misinterpreted in working with these children. It is…

The concepts of competency can be conceptually separated into two dimensions: minimum competency testing (MCT) and competency based education (CBE). One of the major weaknesses of the MCT movement is the growing reliance on single test scores as indicators of the total capability of students. Minorities do not reject the idea of competence, but…

The entries in this annotated bibliography represent books, educational journals, dissertations, popular magazines, and research studies that deal with the topic of communication and sexuality. Arranged alphabetically by author and also indexed according to subject matter, the titles span a variety of topics, including the following: sex and…

Simulated tailored tests were used to investigate the relationships between characteristics of the item pool and the computer program, and the reliability and bias of the resulting ability estimates. The computer program was varied to provide for various step sizes (differences in difficulty between successive steps) and different acceptance…

The strengths and weakness of standardized tests, and trends in achievement testing in the last 15 years are examined. The discussion of achievement tests includes survey, instructional, diagnostic, and basic skills tests, as well as tests used for formative and summative evaluation. Minimum competency tests are not examined in detail. Advantages…

Structural and cultural inequalities hinder the attainment of approximately 25 million rural American youth. A characteristic lack of education and employment opportunities is combined with a restricted realm of attainment in rural areas. Rural people are negatively stereotyped by the mass society, as seen in an examination of linguistic terms…

The influence of social science research on educational policy, particularly since the 1954 Brown vs Board of Education decision, has been significant. The paper presents an historical overview of the judicial use of social science data. Three questions are investigated: to what extent has social science influenced judicial decision-making? what…

Forty-two secondary-level Canadian and American world history, social studies, and geography textbooks on the Middle East are examined for errors in content, oversimplification of complicated issues, and stereotyping. Areas under examination for distortion include Middle East geography and culture, economics, and maldistribution of wealth,…

The several statistical methods described for detecting test bias in terms of various internal features of a person's test performances and the test's construct validity can be applied to any groups in the population. But the evidence regarding groups other than U.S. blacks and whites is either lacking or is still too sketchy to permit any strong…

This 1976 review by the Michigan Department of Education of senior high school government textbooks used in Michigan schools suggests that the majority of textbooks are "grossly lacking" in terms of the fair inclusion of the "achievements and accomplishments of ethnic and racial groups," as specified in Act 127 (Social Studies…

How interracial contact affects the attitudes of blacks towards whites is explored in this study, which also delineates the personality characteristics predictive of prejudice and prejudice changes, and how these characteristics differ between blacks and whites. The sample includes 112 male inmates; 63 blacks and 49 whites, who are newly admitted…

This report on sex discrimination in the Kalamazoo Public Schools describes the findings from a study of materials used during the 1971-72 school year. Conducted by a task force on elementary school textbooks, the study evaluated 172 texts, 65 supplements, and 24 study-print sets for sex stereotyping and sexism. Sex roles depicted for both…