Intelligence Testing and Minority Students

"At last - a book that is comprehensive, balanced and sensitive in its approach to the intellectual assessment of minority children. This book will quickly become a standard text in courses on assessment and diversity."

--Jonathan Sandoval, University of California, Davis

"Congratulations to Richard Valencia and Lisa Suzuki for producing a long overdue, comprehensive and balanced treatment of cognitive assessment for minority children. This volume should prove to be a great value for practitioners and researchers alike."

--Terry Gutkin, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

"I believe that Intelligence Testing and Minority Students is absolutely outstanding. Valencia and Suzuki demonstrate unusually rich research-based, theoretical, practical, and clinical foundations for treating the important and thorough set of topics covered by the book. Their underlying compassion is also evident throughout the book. I recommend this book to everyone in the field of assessment; it is "must" reading for anyone who tests minority students."

--Alan S. Kaufman, Yale University School of Medicine

"This book should be required reading for those who work in this field either in a research or clinical capacity, but is especially important for those who have reservations about the use of standardized tests for intellectual assessment. It is a highly valuable reference."

--Robert Rueda, University of Southern California

"This is a very rich resource on the history of "intelligence" testing and it's application to diverse ethnic groups. Theoretical and applied topics are well integrated in the discussions. Most important is the inclusion of the record of white supremacy ideology, the issues of cultural salience in measurement, and the issues of usage. I know of no other reference on this topic that is as comprehensive as is this one."

--Asa G. Hilliard III, Georgia State University





What roles do socioeconomic status, home intellectual environment, test bias, and heredity play in explaining measured intellectual performance between and within racial/ethnic groups? Intelligence Testing and Minority Students provides a fresh opportunity to reexamine the construct of intelligence, as well as its strengths and weaknesses. Viewed as a psychometric tour de force, this work provides a concrete argument for prioritizing the nation's testing needs as well as the multicultural perspectives of intelligence.

Psychometricians and practitioners alike will find this book to be a useful reference in understanding assessment tests and their relationship with minority students. With the rising necessity for better and more comprehensive testing, it has become of the utmost of importance to respond fairly and validly to the diversity of this nation's citizens. The authors have acknowledged this need by including a thorough discussion of cognitive testing issues as well as an exploration of future movements. From the historical views of testing to the future direction of nondiscriminatory assessment, no professional should be without this must-have reference.

About the Authors:
Richard R. Valencia, Ph.D. is Professor in the Department of Educational Psychology, College of Education, at The University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Valencia's research and scholarly interests include the intellectual and academic development of racial/ethnic minority students' historical, social, and psychological status.

Lisa A. Suzuki, Ph.D. is Assistant Professor in the Department of Applied Psychology, School of Education, at New York University. Dr. Suzuki previously worked as a school counselor and psychological examiner for the Department of Education in the state of Hawaii. Over the years, she has administered over 300 intelligence tests to diverse populations. Her observations sparked an interest in pursuing a greater understanding of the cognitive abilities and intelligence of diverse racial/ethnic populations.