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Reducing bias in language assessment: processing-dependent measures
T Campbell1, C Dollaghan, H Needleman
1Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, University of Pittsburgh, PA, USA. kelsey@vms.cis.pitt.edu
Summary
Processing-dependent language measures show promise for unbiased assessment. These tests minimize bias from prior knowledge, helping differentiate language disorders from differences in children.
Area of Science:
- Psycholinguistics
- Educational Psychology
- Language Acquisition
Background:
- Bias in language assessment can stem from prior knowledge and experience.
- Traditional knowledge-dependent tests may disadvantage minority groups.
- Need for unbiased measures to accurately assess language abilities.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate processing-dependent language measures for bias.
- To determine if processing-dependent measures can differentiate language disorders from differences.
- To compare performance on processing-dependent versus knowledge-dependent tests.
Main Methods:
- 156 school-age boys participated.
- Three processing-dependent language measures were administered.
- One knowledge-dependent language test was administered.
Main Results:
- Minority subjects scored lower on knowledge-dependent tests.
- No significant differences were found between groups on processing-dependent measures.
- Processing-dependent measures showed potential for unbiased assessment.
Conclusions:
- Processing-dependent measures are promising for reducing bias in language assessment.
- These measures can help distinguish language disorders from language differences.
- Further research is warranted to validate these findings.