University of Texas Supreme Court case

[GeorgiaGreek]

Originally Posted by Psi U MC Vito

It favors more a culture then an ethnicity. Since minorities tend to be in a lower social class then European Americans, there is a feeling that tests are biased against them since they are written form a certain social class.

I would really like a specific example here, as I'm having trouble understanding how there could be such a bias. I'm assuming this would have to be a problem (if it is truly a problem) on the reading/writing sections, because, for the most part, math is math. Though, I have noticed that names used in word problems are way more often traditionally ethnic names ("Ming, Raj and Lupita each have a bag of marbles...").

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by GeorgiaGreek

I would really like a specific example here, as I'm having trouble understanding how there could be such a bias.

The standard example that I tend to see cited is an SAT question from about 20 years ago:

RUNNER: MARATHON :: A) envoy: embassy B) martyr: massacre C) oarsman: regatta D) referee: tournament E) horse: stable

The correct answer is C), but being able to answer that correctly arguably presumes knowledge of boating and regattas, which are typically associated with middle- and upper-class white culture and often are not within the cultural experience of, say, inner-city or poor rural students. Yes, the question could perhaps be answered by the process of elimination without specific knowledge of boating, but the point made is that the question and correct answer appear to assume a common base of knowledge that in reality may not be common to some cultural segments of the population.

I can't speak to what questions are like these days.

[DeltaBetaBaby]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

The standard example that I tend to see cited is an SAT question from about 20 years ago:

RUNNER: MARATHON :: A) envoy: embassy B) martyr: massacre C) oarsman: regatta D) referee: tournament E) horse: stable

The correct answer is C), but being able to answer that correctly arguably presumes knowledge of boating and regattas, which are typically associated with middle- and upper-class white culture and often are not within the cultural experience of, say, inner-city or poor rural students. Yes, the question could perhaps be answered by the process of elimination without specific knowledge of boating, but the point made is that the question and correct answer appear to assume a common base of knowledge that in reality may not be common to some cultural segments of the population.

I can't speak to what questions are like these days.

I did not know what a regatta was until I saw a Dawson's Creek episode in which one featured prominently. This has nothing to do with the topic at hand, except to say that it may also be a regional thing (or a WASP thing?), as I grew up both white and upper-middle class.

[PiKA2001]

Originally Posted by ADPi95

I agree with adpimiz. I would like to think I was accepted into Texas A&M on my own merits. I'm Hispanic, but my parents instilled in me the notion that I am not special...I'm just like everybody else. You have to work hard for the things that you want. Again, that's how I was brought up.

That being said, I was in NHS, involved in drama, Student Council, and debate. When I applied to Texas A&M, I applied to the Agriculture department. I was also involved in 4H for 10 years (raised livestock, 4H State, 4H Congress, etc). My acceptance could have been based on my ethnicity, but again, I'd like to think that good grades, hard work, and achievements in the area in which decided to major in, was enough to get me in. Then again, that was 17 years ago!

After college, I earned two master's degrees in which I neither asked for, nor received, any scholarships or aid because my ethnicity (I didn't for undergrad either).

Originally Posted by DeltaBetaBaby

I did not know what a regatta was until I saw a Dawson's Creek episode in which one featured prominently. This has nothing to do with the topic at hand, except to say that it may also be a regional thing (or a WASP thing?), as I grew up both white and upper-middle class.

I say regional. I grew up off of the water and sailing is pretty popular there but I wouldn't expect a landlocked high school aged kid to know what a regatta is either.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by GeorgiaGreek

Though, I have noticed that names used in word problems are way more often traditionally ethnic names ("Ming, Raj and Lupita each have a bag of marbles...").

This is known as overcompensation for Sally, Dick and Jane readers and everyone having similarly WASPy names up until around the 1970s-80s. (It doesn't really help promote diversity when the teachers can't pronounce the names, just FYI.)

I laugh at the "regatta" example since the Three Rivers Regatta here is basically a yinzerfest with boats and tribute bands. In other words, hardly an "upperclass" event.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by 33girl

I laugh at the "regatta" example since the Three Rivers Regatta here is basically a yinzerfest with boats and tribute bands. In other words, hardly an "upperclass" event.

Yinzerfest? Yep -- regional.

[WhiteRose1912]

Okay, I'll bite, and I won't even use the word regatta in my example since y'all are turning your nose up at it. This is from Ji, Zhang, and Nisbett, 2004.

Let's say on a children's intelligence test they were given a list of words and asked to pick the two that "go together", a pretty straight-forward task:

A. Seagull
B. Squirrel
C. Tree

A. Monkey
B. Panda
C. Banana

A. Cow
B. Milk
C. Pig

A. Foot
B. Shoe
C. Hand

European American students are more likely to group based on taxonomic categorization: seagull and squirrel, monkey and panda, cow and pig, foot and hand.

East Asian students are more likely to group based on thematic categorization: squirrel and tree, monkey and banana, cow and milk, foot and shoe.

Of course, when people are talking about cultural biases in testing, they're usually less concerned with testing children. You'll see some of it in admissions testing, but a lot of the problems revolve around employee and personnel selection. Spearman's g, for instance, is a general intelligence measure that typically correlates highly with work performance, but using it will cause adverse impact for pretty much anyone who isn't a white male.

[shirley1929]

Originally Posted by WhiteRose1912

East Asian students are more likely to group based on thematic categorization: squirrel and tree, monkey and banana, cow and milk, foot and shoe.

Interesting. I'm not EVEN close to being considered East Asian (definitely European) but I identified these groups thematically. It took me a second looking at each group to figure out how I was categorizing them, but I definitely separated them this way...

[carnation]

Do they mean East Asians who were raised over there or are they saying it's a racial thing? Because 4 of my daughters were born there and raised here from infancy and I have no idea how they'd respond.

[Tulip86]

Originally Posted by shirley1929

Interesting. I'm not EVEN close to being considered East Asian (definitely European) but I identified these groups thematically. It took me a second looking at each group to figure out how I was categorizing them, but I definitely separated them this way...

Me too. I would absolutely be considered European and I identified thematically as well.