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Title: Potential Cultural Bias in a Standardized Reading Test: Implications for Predicting Subsequent Academic Achievement
Resulting in 1 citation.
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Hurst, Dawn S. Mott, Frank L. |
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Potential Cultural Bias in a Standardized Reading Test: Implications for Predicting Subsequent Academic Achievement Presented: San Francisco, CA, American Sociological Association, annual meetings, Aug 14, 2004. Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79 Publisher: American Sociological Association Keyword(s): Ethnic Differences; High School; Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Reading); Racial Differences; Test Scores/Test theory/IRT; Tests and Testing Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher. In this presentation we briefly summarize controversies surrounding the issue of potential racial and ethnic biases embedded within the Peabody Individual Achievement Test in Reading Recognition (PIAT) and their relevance for predicting subsequent achievement. The PIAT is a standardized assessment utilized in a myriad of settings to test for scholastic achievement relative to age and grade. According to the test manual, users of the reading recognition module should be cautious in their interpretation of low scores for older children because with increasing age this particular subtest becomes a quasi-measure of “cultural sophistication”(Dunn & Markwardt, 1970, p.20). More specifically, users are advised to use caution when interpreting low scores for individuals in the fourth grade or higher. However, in our brief review of the papers and publications that employ the PIAT in analyses using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY), we found that researchers frequently drew conclusions about reading recognition scores for children at these older ages without mention of the aforementioned potential for cultural bias. Subsequent to our discussion of these issues, we examine this reading assessment as an input variable with predictive abilities. The objective is to explore the extent to which cultural biases in the individual test items, and the overall test score, can lead to inappropriate interpretations of connections between PIAT scores at one point in time and quantifiable school and standardized test outcomes several years later. In turn, we offer recommendations for future researchers interested in negotiating an accurate understanding of racial and ethnic differences in outcomes as they relate to PIAT reading recognition scores as a predictor. |
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Bibliography Citation
Hurst, Dawn S. and Frank L. Mott. "Potential Cultural Bias in a Standardized Reading Test: Implications for Predicting Subsequent Academic Achievement." Presented: San Francisco, CA, American Sociological Association, annual meetings, Aug 14, 2004. |