The changed social context of testing.

By contrasting the social context in which tests were developed and the present-day social context, the authors shed light on the controversy about bias in tests. They note that an emphasis on selection—for which tests were designed in the early half of this century—has been largely replaced by widespread concern with equal opportunity. Proponents of tests claim that tests are unbiased because they accurately reflect ability. Critics argue that standardized tests are inappropriate because minority groups have lacked equal opportunity, and therefore their abilities are not accurately assessed. It is argued that current social values demand that testing should now be less concerned with unbiased predictive validity and more concerned with facilitating equal opportunity. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)