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Larry P. V. Riles (1979). Presented by Breanna Dailey. Fundamental questions. What is causing a seemingly “major disparity” between African American students and Caucasian students assessment scores? Is it the test, nature, nurture, or something else?. Historical Background.
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Larry P. V. Riles (1979) Presented by Breanna Dailey
Fundamental questions • What is causing a seemingly “major disparity” between African American students and Caucasian students assessment scores? • Is it the test, nature, nurture, or something else?
Historical Background • Brown v. Board of Education (1954) – • made school desegregation mandatory. (Bersoff, 1980; Bersoff, 1981; Fagan & Wise, 2007; Menacker & Morris, 1985; Prasse & Reschly, 1986) • Desegregation process was not instantaneous
Hobson v. Hansen (1967) • Found that through heavy usage of standardized tests, a disproportionate number of African American students were put in the “mildly retarded” track. (Bersoff, 1980; Menacker & Morris, 1985; Prasse & Reschly, 1986) • Specifically, looked at group ability tests • Therefore, it was ruled that putting students into tracks solely on the basis of standardized tests was unconstitutional and discriminatory. (Prasse & Reschly, 1986)
Larry P. V. Riles (1979) – The Complaint • Plaintiffs – 5 African American children in programs for the Educable Mentally Retarded (EMR) in San Francisco (Jacob, Decker, & Hartshorne, 2010, pp. 79-124;Menacker & Morris, 1985; Prasse & Morris, 1986) • Allegation – Discrimination on the basis of being placed in EMR classes solely from intelligence tests which are biased • This included the Stanford-Binet and WISC-R
Percentage of African American students in… (Prasse & Reschly, 1986)
Preliminary Injunction • Requested reevaluation of all African American EMR and provide additional interventions and programs for those eligible to return to regular classes. (Prasse & Reschly, 1986) • Also requested a quota based on the information in the previous slide • Courts decided that there was “undue emphasis and reliance on [the tests]” (Prasse & Reschly, 1986) and allowed the injunction
Injunction broadened • Expanded to all of California • Stopped using intelligence tests to place a child in EMR classes on all children regardless of race.
Trial • Case took a half a year, more than 50 witnesses resulting in a transcript more than 10,000 pages • Main issues (Prasse & Reschly, 1986) • Racial bias in tests • Nature versus Nurture • Disproportionate nature of the tests • Policies and procedures of the Department of Education in California
Trial • Plaintiffs stated that the tests were biased against African Americans and the tests were the only thing that led to placement in EMR classes • The state argued that any bias was due to socioeconomic status and that the tests were the best means to measure IQ at the time
Laws affecting the decision • Title VI of the Civil Rights of 1964 • Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act 1973 • Education for All Handicapped Children Act 1975 (Public Law 94-142)
Decision • Ruled in favor of the plaintiff • Judge ruled the discrimination was on purpose and was to separate minority children into special education classes that were a “dead end”. (Bersoff, 1981; Jacob, Decker, & Hartshorne, 2010, pp. 79-124; Prasse & Reschly, 1986) • Assessments used in a racially and culturally biased manner • Not standardized for African American children – meant for mainstream (Menacker & Morris, 1985; Prasse & Reschly, 1986)
Remedies • State of California cannot use tests that are not standardized until they are approved by the courts • These tests must be administered fairly • Each school district must correct an imbalance if the rate of African American EMR students is one standard deviation above that of Caucasian EMR students. (Prasse & Reschly, 1986)
PASE v. Hannon (1980) • Determine placement of African American children in Educationally Mentally Handicapped (EMH) classes by IQ tests (Menacker & Morris, 1985) • IQ tests were ruled as not completely biased (although some items can be) when used with multifactored assessment (Bersoff, 1981; Jacob, Decker, & Hartshorne, 2010, pp. 79-124; Menacker & Morris, 1985; Prasse & Reschly, 1986) • Ruled that the tests are more biased on the basis of poverty than race (Bersoff, 1981)
Larry P. V. Riles and today • Warner et al (2002) found that African American scored at 1 standard deviation lower than European Americans when looking at college IQ and achievement scores • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIYeFNalyJ4
Larry P. V. Riles and today • What is causing a seemingly “major disparity” assessment scores and why? • Are there any comparisons between an IQ test 3.5 decades ago and a student taking the SAT today? • Who needs to care about the results of this case? • What is the most important thing to take away from this case? • What can we do to eliminate bias or understand bias in test situations?
Nonbiased Assessment Practices • Mandated under IDEA (Jacob, Decker, & Hartshorne, 2010, pp. 139-162) • Acknowledge that the tests are not perfect (Ortiz, 2008) • Use more than one thing to base a decision on • Remember writing our reports • Diagnostic Interview with multiple people • Review of Records • Behavioral Observations • Test
References • Bersoff, D. N. (1980). P. V. Riles: Legal perspective. School Psychology Review, 9, pp. 112-122. • Bersoff, D. N. (1981). Test bias: The judicial report card. New York University Education Quarterly, 13, pp. 2-8. • CNN. (2011). Is the SAT biased? Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIYeFNalyJ4. • Fagan, T.K. & Wise, P.S. (2007). Roles and functions of school psychologists, 105-156. School Psychology: Past, present, and future Third Edition. National Association of School Psychologists. Bethesda, MD. • Jacob, S., Decker, D., & Hartshorne, T. S. (2010). Ethical and legal issues in the education of students with disabilities under IDEA. 79-124. Ethics and Law for School Psychologists 6thEdition. John Wiley and Sons. Hoboken, New Jersey. • Jacob, S., Decker, D., & Hartshorne, T. S. (2010). Ethical and legal issues in psychoeducational assessment, 139-162. Ethics and Law for School Psychologists 6thEdition. John Wiley and Sons. Hoboken, New Jersey.
References • Menacker, J., & Morris, V. C. (1985). Intelligence testing, civil rights, and the federal courts. The Educational Forum, 49(3), pp. 285-296. • Prasse, D. P., & Reschly, D. J. (1986). Larry P.: A case of segregation, testing, or program efficacy? Exceptional Children, 54(4), pp. 333-346. • Ortiz, S. O. (2008). Best practices in nondiscriminatory assessment. 661-679. Best Practices in School Psychology 5th Edition. National Association of School Psychologists. Bethesda, MD. • Warner, T. D., Dede, D. E., Garvan, C. W., & Conway, T. W. (2002). One size still does not fit all in specific learning disability assessment across ethnic groups. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 35(6), pp. 501-509.