Essay on Test Bias

     Since the development of the intelligence quotient, schools in every part of the world have been using the IQ test to categorize millions of students into three groups. These three groups, which are the gifted, the average, and the retarded, are falsifications that perpetuate in our world culture and cause many gifted students to be deemed retarded and vice a versa. Why then is the IQ test so heavily relied on in our school systems? For schools the answer is simple, an I.Q. test is a reliable predictor of a students later performance in academics. This answer is relatively true, but where the I.Q. test falls extremely short is with testing the multiple

On the contrary, those people who scored low on one kinds of ability test, were more likely to score badly on others as well. Meanwhile, Spearman also concluded that intelligence is a cognitive ability which could be measured and expressed numerically.

Labeling bias exists when a test claims to measure one thing but actually measures something else. Tests that claim to assess such traits as “aptitude” or “intelligence” imply that they are measuring something innate, given that many people assume that these traits are genetic. However, Jencks notes that “almost all psychologists now agree that while an individual’s score on an intelligence or aptitude test depends partly on his or her genetic makeup, it also reflects a multitude of environmental influences” (p. 56). Thus, such tests are racially biased estimates of the innate traits that most laypeople think these tests are purporting to evaluate. Fortunately, this bias can be eliminated by simply changing the names of what these tests claim to measure.

The issue of cultural bias in intelligence tests sparks debates every time the latter is created or administered, resulting to many researches into how the reliability and validity of an ability test may differ when assessed on groups from different cultural-linguistic backgrounds. The aim of this study is to test the reliability and validity of the PSYGAT Verbal IQ Test on university students from English-speaking backgrounds (ESB) and non-English speaking backgrounds (NESB) in relation to the Queendom Verbal IQ Test and Cultural Fair IQ Test. 445 third year psychology students aged 19 to 62 were involved in this

The debate concerning the nature of the relationship between race and intelligence has been highly contested by psychologists for many years. With the emergence of genetic research in recent times, some clarity has been provided, however, many unanswered questions still remain. This essay discusses the implications of IQ test scores and the potentially misleading information they generate when administered to non-Western individuals. Although it is argued that race is a dynamic social construct and therefore not scientifically sound, this essay will explain why considering context-specific information about an individual is vital when assessing their intelligence due to the substantial roles environmental factors play in the learning

Decades of research have documented the biases in standardized tests when it comes to students of color and culture. Cultural bias is an expression that means certain cultures are not given an equal chance to succeed in society because of an unfairness, prejudice, or partiality. Cultural biases involve practices and rules that put some minority groups at a disadvantage. In the public school systems, minority children are more likely to do poorly on state tests than the non-minority students are. A study by Jay Rosner in 2002 showed that sample questions, which were answered correctly by more African-American students, were not chosen for use in the tests. Although in the recent year’s test makers have attempted to discuss the concerns about test bias by establishing review committees to search the test for bias. Significant problems stay in the content of the

“Blacks still score below 75 percent of American whites on most standardized tests” (Jencks and Phillips). The belief that intelligence and aptitude are innate seems to be especially important in discussions of racial differences (Jencks and Phillips 6). White Americans score closer on IQ tests to other white populations across the globe than to the worldwide black average (Saletan 1). An important question that may come to mind is whether intelligence tests biased. Intelligence tests are likely to be culturally biased when a standardized test reflects what is learned through experience in a culture that does not regard to another race as highly (Young). For instance, if a standardized test result represented an ingroup preference exclusively than it may only measure a specific part of intelligence; for example the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, WAIS, is more verbal while the Raven's Progressive Matrices, RPM, is more visual (Young). This may cause a majority of individuals with autism to do better on the RPM due to autistic students connecting with images rather than words. Young has stated that intelligence tests that only focus on certain neurological criterias and are not well indicators of intelligence due to it not equally indicating all types of intellect. Yet a majority of psychologists now agree that intelligence tests measure developed

The American Psychological Association studies have shown that environmental factors can contribute to an individual’s intelligence factor. Different revolution factors, natural selection factors, and environmental differences have an impact (Saletan 4). For example, a black kid living in a run down neighborhood may do worse than a white kid living in a rich neighborhood. Due to this, most children feed off of their peers, either at school or even at home. People in disadvantaged groups generally score lower on IQ tests than those who are not disadvantaged (Jackson 1). Different races have different advantages due to

I will first begin by providing a review of the literature regarding whether or not standardized testing could be biased. The literature within this review exhibits some of the major discussions being had amongst scholars as well as the public over the possibility of the standardized test being biased. I will then discuss the ideas found within the literature that I believe to be beneficial in determining whether or not the test is indeed biased, from both those who believe in the bias of standardized testing, as well as those who don’t.

Differences have been observed in mean IQ levels for racial/ethnic groups, as measured by intelligence tests

Valid – The test must be shown to measure what it is intended to measure. Unbiased – The test should not place students at a disadvantage because of gender, ethnicity, language, or disability.” Yet, all three requirements for a test to be viable do not apply to standardized testing. Results produced are not consistent, as the day to day lives of students are constantly changing; Issues in the students’ lives may affect their thoughts, emotions, and health that would affect the results of their tests, providing a variety of test scores for one person alone. The validity of the test is also in question as it does not account for differences in students’ backgrounds and personal life so test scores do not accurately measure student’s abilities, but rather, it measures their ability to memorize information and test taking skills. Standardized testing holds a very large amount of bias, as the students of different ethnicities, cultures, and languages, have to confront many biased questions that are present in standardized tests. Therefore, standardized testing, according to Zucker’s analysis of an effective test, should not be used as an effective measure for testing students’ intelligence as it breaks the three requirements that make

According to Nesbitt (2005), other researchers misrepresented standardized tests by associating intellect with heritability. IQ testing to dissimilar cultural groups/people with disability opposes questions as to what IQ really measures. According to Arnold et al (2011), IQ testing generates a floor effect when pertained to people with lower IQ's. Example, in a practice IQ scores beneath a definite cut-off are still being utilized to conclude and categorize an individual’s intelligent disability. An alternative explanation to this matter would be to evaluate people from dissimilar culture groups and or those with mental retardation and incapacities with more than standardized tests. As for the natural bias for the mentally retarded, individuals should be assesses based on their needs, and the atmosphere influenced within their lives.

Gender, culture, socioeconomic biases give White, affluent, and male test-takers advantages on standardized tests. This occurrence is problematic because it adversely impacts, a definable subgroup of test takers when to compare with the remainder of the test takers. When a test is biased, it can be problematic if the differential validity test is not equally valid for relevant subgroups. Argumentatively, that there is no such thing as a bias-free test, but it can still be unfair. African American students are the recipients of this inequity versus any another racial/ethnic group. Theoretically, the test-makers must aim to reduce or lower test bias for racial, gender, ethnic groups. Always consider African Americans’ background experiences

Intelligence tests are inaccurate to measures true ability of a person because genes affect how a person responds to their surroundings, the tests cannot measure the person biological makeup or his true potential for being “smart”.

There is a relationship between intelligence and culture because intelligence is culturally shaped and defined and some cultures support and identify it as very vital in the context of social and ecological aspects. In the early years, there was a bias towards intelligence tests because they used English language and culture. The formation of Wesler Adult Intelligence Scale, Fourth Addition (WAIS,IV) in 2008 by David Wesler was meant to minimise the bias. According to Westen, Burton and Kowalski (2006), intelligence assists human beings to take control of their lives and it varies cross culturally because the power dynamics differ in each society and this leads to differences in behaviour and line of thinking. These authors describe intelligence as multifaceted, functional and can be defined by culture because it is universal and studying intelligence using different culture as a sample that can be used to question Western ideas about intelligence with some emphasis on the assessment of skills and abilities using culturally appropriate methods (Benson, 2003)