Issues and trends in culture-fair assessment

When a test is said to be biased against one or more cultural minority groups in a society, the underlying cause can take on several different forms. Some of the more common types of cultural test bias and how they may negatively affect scores are discussed here. In addition, the author reviews the case law and federal statutes that have been a driving force behind the trend of developing assessments for special education purposes that are more "cultural neutral." Research exploring bias issues in testing is discussed; finally, several recently published ability assessments that have been developed to accommodate a variety of different backgrounds and experiences are detailed.