Description
Book SynopsisHere, Gunn and Singh take a good look at one of society's most perplexing problems_our cultural testing bias. We live in an open society where the key to opportunity is a good education, but what if some people can't get that good education because their test scores are too low? A quick look at the world of testing will reveal that African Americans and Hispanics are clustered at the bottom of the scoring range. Why? Educators recognized the testing bias many years ago and began searching for a culture-free form of testing, but most of these efforts have failed. Gunn and Singh have a different approach. They believe that test-taking is a skill like many other cognitive endeavors, and in this book provide guidance in teaching math, verbal reasoning, abstraction, and language skills to minority children. Features: Factual data on standardized tests fairness, Examples of unfair test questions. The authors describe how learning can be fun by showing: How problem solving can be made simple, How parents can teach verbal skills to their children Their experience is that as the learning takes place, minority children gain in self-pride and draw closer to their parents. It is likely to be the same for many others who read this book. Intended for students, parents, teachers, educators, education policymakers, test designers, and mental health professionals.
Trade Review...Read the book cover to cover and enjoyed it very much..found it informative and helpful in understanding the needs of struggling children. -- Judy Tomera, educational consultant
A well thought out analysis. Authors not only present good theoretical explanations of what the issues are and why they exist, but also present a variety of good practical suggestions on how to deal with the problems that confront minorities. These suggestions should be valuable not only to minority children and adults, but could also be valuable to teachers, school administrators, examiners who test minority children, and tests constructors. This book clearly suggests how to alleviate situations that create the disadvantages to minorities. -- Alan S. De Wolfe, professor emeritus, Department of Psychology, Loyola University, Chicago
Table of ContentsChapter 1 Foreword Chapter 2 Preface Chapter 3 Acknowledgments Chapter 4 Introduction Chapter 5 1. How Widely Are Tests Used in American Society? Chapter 6 2. What Are Tests Used For? Chapter 7 3. How Tests Are Created Chapter 8 4. Why Do African Americans and Hispanics Score Lower on Tests than Their White Counterparts? Chapter 9 5. Reasons for Low Scores on Specific Tests Chapter 10 6. Left- versus Right-Brained Based Learning and Cultural Bias Chapter 11 7. Help from Parents and Teachers Chapter 12 8. Help from Examiners Chapter 13 9. Tests Can Be Fun Chapter 14 10. Tests That Show the Superiority of Minority Children Chapter 15 11. Psyching Up and Battling the Various Tests: Specific Remedies Chapter 16 Epilogue Chapter 17 Index Chapter 18 About the Authors
