Why Ability Assessments Don't Cross Cultures

A test by Serpell(366) revealed that IQ tests are not culture-fair. He considered a test in which students from two different backgrounds were given the same test and scored differently. When the test subjects were asked to reproduce figures using pencils, wires, papers and clay; children in the United States performed better in pencil and paper tasks while those from Zambia performed better in tasks involving wires and clay. Serpell then made a conclusion that each of the groups under observation performed best in using the medium, which they were most accustomed to. With this in mind, he further opined that paper and pencil IQ tests might be intrinsically biased towards the

There are distinctive social rules, behaviors, interpretation rules, production rules, and proximity rules that exist in varying cultures (Taylor & Payne, 1983). This impacts how a client will address and behave towards a clinician depending on their background. Within this bias fall misunderstanding and misinterpretation due to what is acceptable in one culture versus what is acceptable in another culture (Taylor & Payne, 1983). Situational biases develop from the pragmatics aspect of language, reflecting the possibility of response variability based upon the situation, the audience, and the topic (Taylor & Payne, 1983). Next, the article discussed directions or format bias, which reveals the faults within the framework of test materials. The format of certain tests and the directions within the test usually do not consider various cultures, and may not be relevant to some cultures. The article gives the example of Chicano children who have field-dependent orientation to cognition; they may not know how to respond to an assessment question that deviates from the norms within their culture (Taylor & Payne, 1983). For example, it’s like taking

The three principles of utilitarianism are “1. All ‘pleasures’ or benefits are not equal, 2. The system presumes that one can predict the consequences of one’s actions, and 3. There is little concern for individual rights” (Pollock,

For cultural factors, biased IQ test would be interconnected to substandard schools. These tests measure a student's school achievement. And if there are substandard schools, the students who are placed into the higher groups, the will do better than those who are placed in a lower group. And thus these IQ tests would lead to the deficiency theory, which suggests that 'the poor are

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

Each theory of intelligence has not only a different method of testing intelligence, but also a different definition of intelligence, which each creator ascribes to. Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales (Terman, 1916), or IQ tests as they are commonly referred to as, are currently one of the most widely used tools for intelligence measurement, however, research suggests they are a poor predictor of future academic success for particular cultural groups (Gardner, 1993). In one of the largest neurocognitive-based intelligence studies performed to date, it was revealed through the observation of neuroimaging data that IQ scores alone were not likely to indicate a fundamental intellectual ability because intelligence is composed of multiple anatomically distinct components (Hampshire, Highfield, Parkin, & Owen, 2012). Considering this development, it would appear that IQ tests are only measuring one subsection of intelligence, located in the frontoparietal cortex (Gray, Chabris, & Braver, 2003; Hampshire, Highfield, Parkin, & Owen, 2012). In order to provide analogous statistics to base research upon, it is vital to create multifaceted, culturally sensitive measurements because cultures differ greatly in the emphasis they place on certain aspects of intelligence (Sternberg, Grigorenko, & Kidd, 2005).

Some racial groups value hunting knowledge because they are required to hunt for their food for survival, and some increase their chances of survival if they have the academic intelligence to succeed in a paid job. Considering this, standardised IQ tests fail to create statistically comparable results due to the fact that each race places different loadings of importance on different abilities (Sternberg, Grigorenko, & Kidd, 2005). It would be unreasonable to expect an Amazonian tribe member to understand a question such as “which design best completes the sequence?” for example, because this may not be the language or type of question they are accustomed to (Reynolds & Suzuki, 2012). Yet failure to understand such questions might affect their score and imply they are unintelligent according to a standardised IQ test. This is known as a ‘test bias’, because the issue lies within the construction of the measuring tool rather than a lack of intellect (Sternberg, 1980). As this example highlights, it is necessary to acknowledge racial differences in scientific endeavours in order to achieve total congruency, due to the diversity of cultural values.

“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

Cultural competency is a growing need in the United States as well as an important ethical aspect of health care. Given its importance, it is crucial to understand if it is being utilized and taught effectively. In order to establish if something is being understood, there must be a test capable of evaluating the cultural competency of individuals. This test is called the Cultural

One reason is standardized tests play a crucial role in providing students with personalized support, encouraging healthy study habits, and helping students to be more competitive. Standardized tests can directly assist students through providing the information of their knowledge on the current material. This allows both teachers and students to see their strengths and weaknesses, in comparison to others. Testing can encourage students to meet standards and learning goals, which can help better prepare students for their professional goals in life. As students see their advancement towards tests, stress is relieved and motivation is created through progress; allowing students to feel satisfied and responsible for their work. Because cheating is not permissible on standardized tests, students who are diligent and prepared are rewarded, while being separated from others. Furthermore, standardized tests help students to be more competitive. Countries which require standardized tests obtain higher scores on international tests than countries who do not require national testing (Bishop). Through standardized testing, students are given the means to reach

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.

The researchers most likely used confirmation bias when looking at the test results. If a child in the study were shown to be resilient and tested higher than what they expected on the IQ test, the researchers were more likely exclude to them in the results. They did that because the score would go against what the researchers were trying to prove, therefore the researcher also exhibited base rate neglect on their part. The IQ test is designed to test intellect, but what if the child has a cultural- familial disability? That would affect the IQ test in a similar way as an organic disability. The only difference is that with a cultural disability; it comes from the home life, whereas the organic disability could be caused by the

The major findings of that report indicated that the effects of these tests on social classes were ‘strong and consistent’ and that while ‘the upper respondent is more likely to favor the use of tests than the lower class respondent,’ the lower class respondent is more likely to see intelligence tests measuring inborn intelligence (Garrison).

IQ tests can be considered biased measures of intelligence, as there are many factors that have to deal with it. Even though IQ test are total fairness it all depends on a person’s social interaction rate. For example, if a test taker comes from a third world country where education is not available vs. a test taker here the scores will range. Bias is present when a test score has implications that relevant showing the portrayal of the subgroup of test takers. It often has to do with social viewpoint and knowledge about the world.

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)