An investigation of gender, income, and special education status bias on curriculum-based measurement slope in reading.

This study investigated slope bias on student background variables for both Curriculum Based Measurement of Oral Reading (CBM-R) and Curriculum Based Measurement Maze Reading (Maze). Benchmark scores from 1,738 students in Grades 3 through 8 were used to examine potential slope bias in CBM-R and Maze. Latent growth modeling was used to both estimate growth rates and examine the extent to which demographic variables affected the estimated growth rates. Results indicate a significant CBM-R slope bias on special education status at Grade 3 and on gender at Grade 7. For Maze, slope bias on gender was associated with Maze slope estimates at Grades 5 and 7. Slope bias on various demographic variables was not consistent across CBM measures and grades. Results and implications are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Validating curriculum-based measurement in reading from a behavioral perspective.

Examined the effects of setting and method accuracy in curriculum-based measurement (CBM). The effects of who administers the assessment (teacher vs school psychologist), the physical location of the assessment (reading group vs teacher's desk vs office outside the classroom), and whether the performance is timed or untimed was examined for oral reading rates of 100 3rd- and 4th-grade students in regular education. 35 students were reading below their average grade level, 31 at average grade level, and 34 above average grade level. Effects of these conditions on the number of words read correctly per minute were examined in 3 separate analyses for each participant group (low, average, and high level readers). Results show significant effects for the reading level, tester, settings, and task demand variables. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An examination of gender and racial differences among Missouri insanity acquittees

This study examines gender and racial differences among Missouri insanity acquittees, which included 42 African American females, 279 African American males, 63 Caucasian females, and 458 Caucasian males. Significant differences across the four groups were not found in age, current marital status, a diagnosis of borderline intellectual functioning/mental retardation, committing crimes of assault and burglary, and whether insanity acquittees ever received conditional releases to reside in the community. Some variations across the four gender/race categories were related to race (diagnoses of schizophrenia, mood disorders, and other Axis I diagnoses), but variations were more frequently related to gender (whether ever married; diagnoses of substance abuse, sexual disorders, antisocial personality disorder, borderline personality disorder, and any personality disorder; committing crimes of murder, sexual offenses, and serious offenses; and current residential status). African American males were identified as being an at-risk population. They were the most likely to have a schizophrenia diagnosis, a substance abuse diagnosis, an antisocial personality disorder diagnosis, and to be hospitalized on the survey date. Implications for treatment and future research are explored.     

Accuracy and curriculum-based measurement.

Comments on an article by T. F. Derr-Minneci and E. S. Shapiro (see record 1993-07458-001) on curriculum-based measurement in reading. It is argued that in Derr-Minneci and Shapiro's examination of variation in oral reading rate across 3 settings, assessment procedures of unknown accuracy were used, and these procedures themselves varied among the settings, making it difficult to be certain what to say about setting differences in oral reading. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Program evaluation using hierarchical linear modeling with curriculum-based measurement reading probes.

Used hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) to evaluate 99 ethnically diverse 2nd-Graders' growth in oral reading fluency using curriculum-based measurement (CBM) over the course of the school year. Five statistical advantages of the use of HLM are described and four are highlighted in this example: (a) The potential for improved accuracy in slope estimation of the empirical Bayes method used in HLM; (b) HLM provided the flexibility to test the effects of independent variables on the initial status of the slope and the change in slope over time; (c) HLM provided an analysis of the nested effects of the classroom on individual performance; and (d) HLM provided a statistical test for both group effects and individual variation in reading growth. Results showed 1st-Grade reading performance significantly predicted initial 2nd-Grade reading performance. Individual growth curves of 28 students who attended summer school showed that all of them made statistically significant growth in reading ability. 71% of the summer school students scored between the 1st and 2nd quartile of the spring, norming distribution at the end of summer school. This example shows that the use of HLM with normative CBM reading probes provided additional information not available with other statistical techniques. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The impact of LGBT policies on ethnic/racial and gender diversity among business school faculty.

This study examines how policies targeted to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community impact gender and ethnic/racial diversity within business schools. Specifically, the authors examine domestic-partner benefits, sexual orientation nondiscrimination policies, and gender identity nondiscrimination policies. The cumulative effect of offering multiple policies is also examined. Findings suggest that ethnic/racial diversity of tenure-track business faculty is significantly related to the school offering each of the examined LGBT policies; however, gender diversity was not significantly related. The offering of multiple policies is also a significant predictor of ethnic/racial diversity in business school faculties. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Unobtrusive measurement of racial bias in job-placement decisions.

Unobtrusively gathered historical data documenting recruit-classification decisions made by the US Navy were utilized to determine whether racial bias exists among classifiers. The nature of the classification procedure resulted in the essentially random assignment of over 27,000 Black and White recruits to 46 Black and White classifiers. This permitted a number of interesting comparisons and obviated numerous problems inherent in racial-bias studies. The major hypothesis that Black and White classifiers would be differentially biased in their treatment of Black and White recruits was not supported. A 2nd hypothesis that classifiers within either racial group would be differentially biased in their treatment of Black and White recruits also was not confirmed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Generalizability of oral reading fluency measures: Application of G theory to curriculum-based measurement.

The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the use of Generalizability (G) theory as an alternative method of validating direct behavioral measures. Reliability and validity from a classic test score theory are explored and rephrased in terms of G theory. Two studies that used oral reading fluency measures within a curriculum-based measurement (CBM) approach are examined with G theory. Results indicate that CBM oral reading fluency measures are highly dependable and can be reliably used to make both between individual (nomothetic) and within individual (ideographic) decisions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Links between race/ethnicity and cultural values as mediated by racial/ethnic identity and moderated by gender.

Two studies examined whether individualism (orientation toward one's own welfare), collectivism (orientation toward the welfare of one's larger community), and familism (orientation toward the welfare of one's immediate and extended family) are distinct cultural values predicted by race/ethnicity. The 3 constructs proved to be separate dimensions, although collectivism and familism were positively correlated. In Study 1, persons of color scored higher on collectivism and familism than did Anglos. No differences emerged for individualism. Also, persons of color scored higher than Anglos on racial/ethnic identity, which in turn was a positive predictor of all 3 cultural values. In Study 2, we replicated the group differences on collectivism and familism for men but not for women. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

An exploratory examination of the associations among racial and ethnic discrimination, racial climate, and trauma-related symptoms in a college student population.

In this study, we examined the association among perceptions of racial and/or ethnic discrimination, racial climate, and trauma-related symptoms among 289 racially diverse college undergraduates. Study measures included the Perceived Stress Scale, the Perceived Ethnic Discrimination Questionnaire, the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist—Civilian Version, and the Racial Climate Scale. Results of a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) indicated that Asian and Black students reported more frequent experiences of discrimination than did White students. Additionally, the MANOVA indicated that Black students perceived the campus racial climate as being more negative than did White and Asian students. A hierarchical regression analysis showed that when controlling for generic life stress, perceptions of discrimination contributed an additional 10% of variance in trauma-related symptoms for Black students, and racial climate contributed an additional 7% of variance in trauma symptoms for Asian students. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychiatric diagnoses and racial bias: An empirical investigation.

Using data from a random sample of 313 severly mentally ill individuals, the relation between race and schizophrenic diagnoses was assessed among those hospitalized at 4 Chicago metropolitan state mental hospitals. After controlling for psychiatric diagnosis with an independent Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia diagnosis and other relevant variables, the logistic regression analysis reveals that being Black is predictive of a diagnosis of schizophrenia. These results suggest that significant problems may exist with regard to the treatment and diagnosis of minority groups within the mental health system and the need for culturally appropriate services for minorities, especially within large urban areas. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An examination of predictive bias for second grade reading outcomes from measures of early literacy skills in kindergarten with respect to English-language learners and ethnic subgroups.

The assessment of early literacy skills during the kindergarten year can provide useful information about student performance in prereading skills, which are predictors of later reading achievement. This study examined the use of fluency-based prompts of student phonemic awareness, alphabetic principle, and oral reading at the end of kindergarten for predicting later reading achievement at the end of second grade. Predictive validity and bias studies were undertaken with respect to English-language learners (ELLs) and four selected ethnic subgroups: European American (EA), African American (AA), Asian American (AsA), and Hispanic American (HA). Results indicated that the predictive validity of the early literacy measures was strong, and no evidence of predictive bias for ELL and non-ELL groups was found. However, evidence of a small amount of predictive bias was found between the EA and HA students with respect to intercept differences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Prolegomena for the connotation of construct use in the measurement of ethnic and racial identity.

There is considerable confusion about ethnic and racial identity, multicultural constructs, and the tools available to assess them. The conceptualization and measurement of the constructs in the field also are complicated by the increasing observation that human beings have multiple, intertwined identities that influence one another in ways that are not fully understood. Measurement problems are compounded by the growing popularity of identity to the extent that theory, construct clarity, and appropriate statistical analyses are ignored. The problems could influence counselors who are confronted with their client's identity distortions and confusions. To work through a client's uncertainty about his or her identity, counselors should understand the origins of identity constructs and how the client frames his or her identity problems and confusion. Given the state of pandemonium in ethnic and racial identity, it is essential that considerations are given to the historical developments of the constructs and what they mean for contemporary research and development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The cultural malleability of intelligence and its impact on the racial/ethnic hierarchy.

This commentary highlights previous literature (see record 2005-03637-001) focusing on cultural and environmental explanations for the racial/ethnic group hierarchy of intelligence. Assumptions underlying definitions of intelligence, heritability/genetics, culture, and race are noted. Historical, contextual, and testing issues are clarified. Specific attention is given to studies supporting stereotype threat, effects of mediated learning experiences, and relative functionalism. Current test development practices are critiqued with respect to methods of validation and item development. Implications of the genetic vs. culture-only arguments are discussed with respect to the malleability of IQ. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychiatric inpatient MMPI profiles: An exploration for potential racial bias.

We sought to assess the presence of racial bias in the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory's (MMPI) use with an inpatient psychiatric population. MMPI profiles of 22 Black clients were carefully matched on age, gender, and Axis I and Axis II diagnoses according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Rev. 3rd ed.) with the profiles of 22 White clients. A comparison of these profiles revealed no statistically or clinically significant differences between the two races on the MMPI. These findings suggest that at least in inpatient psychiatric populations, the MMPI differences identified in previous studies may be attributable to moderator variables more so than to race. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Critical issues in the measurement of ethnic and racial identity: A referendum on the state of the field.

Ethnic and racial identity are among the most researched topics in the multicultural counseling literature. The popularity of these constructs, combined with ongoing controversies surrounding their measurement, warrants a critical examination by scholars in the field. The author contends that a combination of science and ideology has influenced the field and warns that a rigid and uncritical adherence to old paradigms will stifle growth and the production of useful knowledge. The author provides a review of measurement issues pertaining to ethnic and racial identity research and recommendations for future research and better practices involving ethnic and racial identity instruments. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Toward a cognitive process model of ethnic/racial biases in clinical judgment.

The purpose of the present article is to discuss approaches to the development of cognitive process models of misdiagnosis of African Americans, with particular emphasis on structured clinical interviews. Two basic approaches to cognitive process models are discussed. The first is cognitive bias based on prototype models of information processing. The second approach involves using the structured clinical interview to see how and when the decision-making process may be flawed, or where cognitive shifts are made in considering one diagnosis over another. Although routine training in structured clinical interviews may nullify cognitive biases associated with clinician judgment, it does not address cultural biases in the diagnostic system. It is concluded that a comprehensive approach to training in clinical decision making for mental health professionals is needed which include courses in the administration of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV, sociocultural case formulation, and cross-cultural sensitivity in making psychodiagnostic judgments. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perspective taking combats automatic expressions of racial bias.

Five experiments investigated the hypothesis that perspective taking—actively contemplating others' psychological experiences—attenuates automatic expressions of racial bias. Across the first 3 experiments, participants who adopted the perspective of a Black target in an initial context subsequently exhibited more positive automatic interracial evaluations, with changes in automatic evaluations mediating the effect of perspective taking on more deliberate interracial evaluations. Furthermore, unlike other bias-reduction strategies, the interracial positivity resulting from perspective taking was accompanied by increased salience of racial inequalities (Experiment 3). Perspective taking also produced stronger approach-oriented action tendencies toward Blacks (but not Whites; Experiment 4). A final experiment revealed that face-to-face interactions with perspective takers were rated more positively by Black interaction partners than were interactions with nonperspective takers—a relationship that was mediated by perspective takers' increased approach-oriented nonverbal behaviors (as rated by objective, third-party observers). These findings indicate that perspective taking can combat automatic expressions of racial biases without simultaneously decreasing sensitivity to ongoing racial disparities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Depression and marital functioning: An examination of specificity and gender differences.

Recent work has emphasized the importance of assessing the marital relationships of depressed persons. The present study was designed to examine the specificity to clinical depression of problematic marital functioning and to assess potential gender differences in the marital relationships and spousal interactions of depressed persons. Depressed psychiatric patients, nondepressed medical patients, and nondepressed community control subjects and their spouses completed measures of marital satisfaction and then participated in a 20-min marital interaction task. Subjects then completed measures assessing their postinteraction mood and perceptions of their spouses, and the interactions were scored with respect to the frequency of occurrence of a number of behaviors. The depressed couples differed from the community controls on virtually every measure of marital functioning. Furthermore, although the medical patients and their spouses also reported marital dissatisfaction and exhibited dysfunctional interactional behavior, only the depressed couples were characterized by negative affect following the interactions and by negative appraisals of their spouses' behaviors. This negative affect was particularly pronounced for the depressed women. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Universality of vocational interest structure among racial and ethnic minorities.

Some multicultural theory holds that it is quite possible for subgroups within the United States to have such divergent thought patterns from the White majority that mainstream psychological inventories are inappropriate measures. Differences in the circular structure of J. L. Holland's (1959, 1997) Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional vocational interests were investigated across racial and ethnic groups (African Americans, Mexican Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and Caucasians; N?=?49,450), separated by sex. Three-way individual-differences scaling revealed that the 10 groups' responses reflected a markedly similar underlying structure, consistent with conventional interpretations of vocational interest patterns. The common structure of vocational interests is theoretically related to R. R. McCrae and P. T. Costa's (1997) claim of personality structure as a universal. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)