Cultural Bias

Standardized intellectual and cognitive assessments are secured assessments that are developed using standard procedures where the scores are consistently recorded for the purpose of measuring academic achievement and/or comparing members of society (Bordonaro, 2001). It is proposed by some authors that inaccuracy of such standard assessment results could have been caused by cultural bias (Klenowski 2009, Bernhard 2000, Schellenberg 2004, and Laros & Tellegen 2004); although developmental factors are also taken into consideration by others (McCauley 2004). The following will; compare studies and highlight issues that are likely to induce cultural bias in the outcomes. The latter section of essay will point out any other factor to be taken into

Schellenberg’s ‘Test bias vs. cultural bias’ (2004) and Judith K. Bernhard’s (2000) study on ‘Cultural Bias in standard tests of mental abilities’ validates suggestions that inaccuracy involved in standard intellectual assessment results is due to cultural bias. The strengths of the arguments presented in these studies have enabled me to further support my viewpoint on standard assessments as unsuitable for cultural groups, such as Indigenous Australians. Schellenberg (2004) has analysed psychometric and socio-cultural aspects of standard assessments. Schellenberg has examined the psychometric approaches by testing the instruments involved in producing the standard assessments. Whereas the socio-cultural approaches were analysed by taking the individual’s cultural background into the consideration. The analysis of both approaches evoked Schellenberg to examine the accuracy of standardised assessments on either of four criteria’s: content, construct, predictive and consequential validity. This led Schellenberg to identify defects in construct validity of assessment and suggested that it may have caused item bias that may have led to cultural bias. Schellenberg supported his argument by explaining how lack of construct validity an assessment always leads to an item bias, and concluded this statement by stating that “if assessment measures something that is not consistent with the individual background and has item bias then it certainly lacks construct validity” (2004). Therefore the results derived from such standard assessments are definitely not suitable for cultural