Cultural Fairness in Tests

Paper Summary:

This paper examines the controversial issue of cultural fairness in psychological tests, specifically tests relating to evaluations of intelligence. The paper starts off by presenting the issue and then defines, in short, what it means to be culturally fair. Finally, the paper considers some examples from actual psychological intelligence tests pointing out either how the tests can be culturally unfair or fair.

From the Paper:

"Intelligence tests are a major part of psychological testing. Schools, especially, rely on evaluations made by intelligence tests in determining best how to meet the needs of either troubled or gifted members of the student body. But the reach of intelligence tests has even extended beyond guidance counselor offices. Some universities are employing intelligence tests as predictors of performance. It's not even unimaginable that a prospective employer might fall back on the results of an intelligence test to determine promotions or pay scale differences. For those reasons it is potentially important to understand the possible fallacies that are built into these tests. However, it is crucially important to understand those limitations because intelligence tests are routinely used to shape and guide the academic careers of young children."

More papers on Cultural Fairness in Tests:

• Essay # 70230 : "Cultural Bias in Testing"
• Article Review # 29005 : "Culture-Fair Test Assessment"
• Research Paper # 75138 : "The Fairness of Standardized Tests"

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