Abstract
Much the impetus for the current debate about bias in psychological testing is based on well-documented, consistent, and substantive differences between IQ scores of Whites, Hispanics, and Blacks in the U.S.A. Various explanations are offered for these differences including the idea that IQ tests are inherently biased against Blacks, Hispanics, and possibly other ethnics groups, or what is commonly known as the Cultural Test Bias Hypothesis (CTBH). Because tests are used to make many different and important decisions about people, lack of fairness in testing resulting from test bias is of grave concern. This chapter traces the historical roots of the CTBH to the present day, provides important distinctions regarding different definitions of test bias that are critical for empirical examination of the issue, presents common objections to the use of psychological testing, and describes how test authors and publishers detect bias in psychological tests. The chapter concludes by noting that while more research is necessary, the current evidence largely supports the proposition that most commercially developed widely use tests of achievement and aptitude are not culturally biased.
Test bias: In God we trust; all others must have data.
Reynolds (1983)
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Recommended Reading
Cleary, T. A., Humphreys, L. G., Kendrick, S. A., & Wesman, A. (1975). American Psychologist, 30, 15–41 This is the report of a group appointed by the APA’s Board of Scientific Affairs to study the use of psychological and educational tests with disadvantaged students--An early and influential article.
Embretson, S., & Reise, S. (2000). Item response theory for psychologists. London: Taylor & Francis An excellent overview of the theory and applications of IRT.
Halpern, D. F. (1997). Sex differences in intelligence: Implications for education. American Psychologist, 52, 1091–1102 A good article that summarizes the literature on sex differences with an emphasis on educational implications.
Neisser, U., BooDoo, G., Bouchard, T., Boykin, A., Brody, N., Ceci, S., … Urbina, S. (1996). Intelligence: Knowns and unknowns. American Psychologist, 51, 77–101 This report of an APA task force provides an excellent review of the research literature on intelligence.
Reynolds, C. R. (1995). Test bias in the assessment of intelligence and personality. In D. Saklofsky & M. Zeidner (Eds.), International handbook of personality and intelligence (pp. 545–573). New York, NY: Plenum Press This chapter provides a thorough review of the literature.
Reynolds, C. R. (2000). Why is psychometric research on bias in mental testing so often ignored? Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 6, 144–150 This article provides a particularly good discussion of test bias in terms of public policy issues.
Reynolds, C. R., & Ramsay, M. C. (2003). Bias in psychological assessment: An empirical review and recommendations. In J. R. Graham & J. A. Naglieri (Eds.), Handbook of psychology: Assessment psychology (pp. 67–93). New York, NY: Wiley This chapter also provides an excellent review of the literature.
Suzuki, L. A., & Valencia, R. R. (1997). Race-ethnicity and measured intelligence: Educational implications. American Psychologist, 52, 1103–1114 A good discussion of the topic with special emphasis on educational implications and alternative assessment methods.
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Reynolds, C.R., Altmann, R.A., Allen, D.N. (2021). The Problem of Bias in Psychological Assessment. In: Mastering Modern Psychological Testing. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-59455-8_15
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