Criticisms of Testing and Test Bias

7/30/2019 Criticisms of Testing and Test Bias

1/34

Criticisms Of testing and Test

Bias

Invasion Of Privacy


2/34

Whether tests represent an invasion of

privacy depends in part on how they are

used.

There is no invasion of privacy when

subjects are told how test results will be

used and then volunteer.


3/34

The code of ethics of the American

Psychological Association(APA) states the

following:

Psychologists have a primary obligation

to respect the confidentiality of information

obtained from persons in the course of theirwork as psychologists. They reveal such

information to others only with the consent


4/34

of the person or the persons legal

representative, except in those unusual

circumstances in which not to do so wouldresult in clear danger to the person or to

others. When appropriate, psychologists

inform their clients of the legal limits ofconfidentiality.(APA, 1981, 635-636)


5/34

The probability of invading privacy is high

whenever testing or measurement is

designed for the benefit of someone otherthan the person being tested or observed.

Teachers who administer test to their

students solely to gather information for aprofessional paper, thesis, or disertation

may well be encroaching upon the rights of


6/34

their students to privacy unless they obtain

the informed consent of the participants,

their parents and school authorities.

In 1974 the Family Education Rights and

Privacy Act ( The Buckley Amendment)

legislated the rights of parents to inspectand review the education record of their

children


7/34

The Buckley Amendment makes the

following points:

No student shall be required to submit to

psychiatric or psychological examination,

testing, or treatment, in which the primary

purpose is to reveal information concerning: 1 Political affilation


8/34

2 Mental and psychological problems

potentially embarrassing to the student and

his or her family.

3 Sex behavior and attitudes

4 Illegal, anti-social, self-incriminating and

demeaning behavior.

5 Critical appraisals of other individuals

with whom respondents have close family

relationship.


9/34

6 Income (other than that required by Law

to determine eligibility fo financial

assistance.

The implications of the Buckley

Amendment might be far reaching indeed.

1 Teachers cannot postgrades of students.

2 Teachers cannot display the works

ofstudents.


10/34

3 Teachers cannot permit students to grade

or correct any other students paper.

4 Teachers cannot ask students to raise

their hands if they responded correctly or

incorrectly to any item.

5 Teachers cannot distribute testpapers inany manner that permits other students to

observe the scores of their classmates.


11/34

6 Teachers cannot assume that letters or

recommendation requested by students will

be kept confidential.

Are Art teachers violating the law when

student drawings are displayed.

Can English teachers no longer read studentcompositions to the class.


12/34

Are Arithmetic and Mathematics teachers in

violation of the law when they asked

students to solve problems at the blackboardin view of the other students.

Are oral reports illegal.


13/34

Tests Create Anxiety and

Interfere with Learning A common criticism of tests is that they

create anxiety and thus interfere with

learning.

Studies have shown that about 60%-75 %

of students are not affected by anxiety.

An excellent summary of how tests affect

students(Kirkland 1971) are as follows:


14/34

1 Mild degree of anxiety usually facilitate

learning, whereas high anxiety levels hinder

learning in most instances.

2 The less able student incurs a higher level

of test anxiety than the more capable one.

3 Being familiar with the type of test to beadministered reduces test anxiety.


15/34

4 High anxious students do better than less

anxious ones on tests measuring rote recall:

they perform less well, however, on testsrequiring flexibility in thought.

5 Test anxiety increases with grade level.

6 Although no relationship appears to existbetween sex and anxiety among elementary

school children, junior high school girls

indicate that they experience more anxiety


16/34

Motivating students without

creating anxiety Emphasize tests for diagnosis and mastery

rather than as a mean of punishing students

who fail to live up to the expectations ofteachers or parents.

Avoid the sudden death examination in

which passing or failing is a function ofperformance on only one test, such as a

final examination.


17/34

Avoid paraphrasing letter grade, instead tell

students what they do know and what they

need to learn to improve.(Krampen,1987) Be sure each item has face validity, that is,

it measure some important aspect of life as

perceived by the students. Avoid unannounced examination,


18/34

Schedule personal conferences with

students as often as necessary to reduce

anxiety and to redirect learning. Avoid invidious comparisons among

students.

Emphasize student strengths, notdeficiencies.


19/34

De-emphasize the role of competitive

examinations when some students are

unable to compete. Treat each students grades and records

confidentially.

Allow students to choose among activitiesof equal instructional value.


20/34

Prepare students to take examinations by

providing them with pretests, which they

can complete and score on their own. Teach students how to take examination and

how to prepare for them.

Provide opportunities for students toimprove their grades through retesting after

they have mastered course content.


21/34

Dont overemphasize the importance of any

one test. Remind students that tests are a

part of learning that can provide feedbackand guidance to help them improve.

Give test relatively often to reduce the

effects that any single test might have. If possible, test content should be

cumulative throughout the semester or year.


22/34

Make sure that students have plenty of time

to complete the test if it is designed as a

power test.


23/34

Tests Categorize Students

If educational and psychological tests are

misused, they do much to permanebtly scar

some pupils by rigidly categorizing orpigeonholing them by allowing the teachers

to use these classification relentlessly.

If they know that a childs IQ score is low,some teachers may decide that the child is

unteachable and may assign menial tasks to

keep that student occupied.


24/34

Tests Penalize Bright and

Creative Students in the Tyranny of Testing (1962) Banesh

Hoffmann, a theoretical Physicist, argues

that, the tests deny the creative person asignificant opportunity to demonstrate his

creativity and favor the shrewd and facile

candidate over the one who has somethingto say.


25/34

Test Bias

One of the most persistent and serious

allegations against tests is they discriminate

against minorities as African Americans,Hispanics, and Native Americans.

Tests failed to consider the childrens

background in language , motivation andthey are denied admission because of unfair

tests and testing practices.


26/34

A test is biased against ethnic minorities if

it:

Fails to eliminate realistic socioeconomicdifferences.

Yields differences in average scores

between groups.

Contains content that facilitates the

performance of one group over another.


27/34

Predicts different success rates between

groups.

Leads to different social consequencesbetween groups.


28/34

Socioeconomic bias.

Average score bias

Content bias

Success bias

Social consequence bias


29/34

Ethical Testing Practices

1 Informing students in advance that they

are about to take a standardized test and

telling them something about the nature ofthe test.

2 Teachers should feel free to explain the

mechanics of taking a standardized test. 3 Encouraging students to do well as they

can is perfectly as long as they are not

threatened or made anxious about their


30/34

4 Keeping all standardized test materials

secure before, during and after the

examination is essential. 5 Combining classes for testing is ethical as

long as there is and adequate number of

proctors to safeguard the test. 6 Once an examination has been

administered and scored, teachers may

examine results and determined areas of


31/34

Unethical Testing Practices

1 Teachers should not tutor on the specific

subject matter of an expected examination.

Such coaching destroys the standardizedprocedures of test administration, makes

scores uninterpretable, and wastes students

time. 2 Teachers should not examine the content

of standardized tests to determine what is to

be taught in the classroom.


32/34

3 Teachers should not use standardized test

items on their own examination.

4 Teachers should not try to improvestudent performance by developing items

that parallel those on standardized tests, nor

should teachers administer a second form asa part of its testing program.


33/34

5 Excluding some students from

participating in districtwide testing is

unethical. 6 Neglecting the instruction of any student

for the purpose of increasing test score of

other pupils is unethical. 7 Altering in any way the directions, time

limits, and scoring procedures of any

standardized test is unethical.


34/34

8 Creating anxiety and rivalry about

standardized tests among students and

between classes or schools is unethical.

Criticisms of Testing and Test Bias

Documents

Transcript of Criticisms of Testing and Test Bias