Deck 20: Testing and the Law

Question 1

Rules that are written by a legislative body at any governmental level are known as

A)bills.
B)statutes.
C)propositions.
D)opinions.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

The amendment that guarantees all citizens due process and equal protection under the law is the ____ Amendment.

A)1st
B)2nd
C)5th
D)15th

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Before a statute becomes a law, it is known as a(n)

A)regulation.
B)judicial opinion.
C)bill.
D)order.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Section 9 of the 1991 Civil Rights Act

A)forbids sexual harassment in the workplace.
B)provided the four-fifths rule.
C)specifically prohibits discriminatory use of test scores.
D)explicitly prohibits the use of quotas.

Question 5

In 1996, California passed ____, a measure that made the preferential treatment based on demographic characteristics illegal.

A)Initiative 200
B)Proposition 209
C)PL 94-142
D)Proposition 1200

Question 6

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

A)evolved from the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
B)evolved from the Equal Employment Act of 1964.
C)only has influence in non-governmental agencies.
D)was created during the Reagan Administration.

Question 7

The Easy Buy corporation uses a test of interpersonal skills to select employees. Experience indicates that 70% of women who score above a cutting score will be hired. Under the four-fifths rule, what percentage of men must be selected?

A)14%
B)30%
C)56%
D)70%

Question 8

According to the EEOC guidelines for criterion validity in statistical relationship,

A)no more than one in thirty relationships between selection procedure scores and criterion measures should happen by chance.
B)no more than one in twenty relationships between selection procedure scores and criterion measures should happen by chance.
C)no more than three in twenty relationships between selection procedure scores and criterion measures should happen by chance.
D)no more than one in ten relationships between selection procedure scores and criterion measures should happen by chance.

Question 9

ABC Company has received 150 job applicants for a job opening: 100 white applicants, 25 Mexican Americans, and 25 African Americans. They hired 60 of the white applicants. How many of the other two groups do they have to hire in order to abide by the four-fifths rule?

A)12 from each group
B)a total of 24 in any combination
C)15 from each group
D)a total of 30 in any combination

Question 10

The New York Truth in Testing Law was the result of an investigation of the

A)ETS.
B)NYPRIG.
C)EEOC.
D)APA.

Question 11

In accordance with the U.S. Constitution, individual states

A)cannot pass a law that is inconsistent with the Constitution.
B)are provided regulations for their individual cities.
C)must define county governments according to constitutional guidelines.
D)have complete control over how they regulate interstate commerce.

Question 12

Which of the following is a key component of No Child Left Behind?

A)Teachers are required to provide copies of classroom tests for validation studies.
B)Tests of student progress are used to assess student progress and hold schools accountable.
C)If a school system mounts a legal challenge to NCLB, funding will be automatically withheld.
D)School systems across the nation must all use the same measures of student achievement.

Question 13

Decisions forbidding the placement of black children in EMR classes on the basis of standardized test scores are typically made by

A)trained psychologists.
B)professional educators.
C)interested citizens.
D)the judicial system.

Question 14

In general, NCLB

A)improved the educational level in many states.
B)improved the educational level in some states.
C)did not have strong evidence that educational level was improved.
D)did not affect educational system.

Question 15

One of the effects of the 1991 Civil Rights Act was that the burden of proof regarding psychological tests was placed on the

A)employer.
B)employee.
C)test developer.
D)ETS.

Question 16

The 14th Amendment guarantees all citizens

A)due process and equal protection under the law.
B)freedom of speech.
C)freedom of religion.
D)the right to privacy.

Question 17

One of the most interesting issues with the four-fifths rule is that

A)most employers find it uninterpretable.
B)efforts to recruit minority group members reduce the percentage hired from that group.
C)typically less than four-fifths of the applicants for a given job are minorities.
D)numerous legal loopholes in the rule result in more discrimination than took place before its adoption.

Question 18

Before proposed statutes become law, they are called

A)constitutions.
B)policies.
C)bills.
D)rights.

Question 19

The EEOC requires organizations with more than ____ employees to complete an annual form that specifies the number of women and members of four minority groups who are employed in nine job categories within that organization.

A)10
B)50
C)100
D)500

Question 20

The organization most responsible for getting the Educational Testing Service to revise some of their policies was the

A)EEQC.
B)FDA.
C)SDPD.
D)NYPIRG.

Question 21

The class-action suit, settled out of court, that resulted in non-English speaking students being tested in their primary language was

A)Hobson v. Hansen.
B)Stell v. Savannah-Chatham County Board of Education.
C)Diana v. State Board of Education.
D)Larry P. v. Wilson Riles.

Question 22

Judge Skelly Wright ruled against classification based on group ability tests in the case of

A)Diana v. State Board of Education.
B)Hobson v. Hansen.
C)Brown v. Board of Education.
D)Plessy v. Ferguson.

Question 23

The Truth in Testing Law requires testing companies to

A)disclose only the most recent validity studies.
B)provide a copy of the students' answers but none of the questions.
C)disclose to students how scores are calculated and what they mean.
D)provide index scores to schools without the student's knowledge.

Question 24

The New York Truth in Testing Law

A)applies only to the ETS.
B)was written for the ETS but applies to many companies.
C)was the result of an investigation into the NYPIRG.
D)is a federal regulation.

Question 25

In 1980, the EEOC added specific guidelines on

A)physical disabilities.
B)sexual harassment.
C)educational requirements.
D)racial discrimination.

Question 26

Children labeled EMR

A)may gain confidence and self-esteem.
B)may behave as though they have cognitive impairments as a self-fulfilling prophecy.
C)are probably not incorrectly classified by biased tests
D)are not adversely affected by the label, according to research.

Question 27

Which of the following is required by the EEOC for the validation of tests?

A)Criterion measures that represent important or critical work behavior(s)
B)Norming the test based on EEOC-developed tests
C)Establishing that there is a statistically reliable relationship between the to-be-validated test and more established tests
D)Identifying and eliminating all biased test items

Question 28

The Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures

A)have been substantially weakened and no longer ban discrimination.
B)prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender, race, color, national origin, and religion.
C)require that employers ask about gender, race, color, national origin, and religion so the employers can demonstrate they do not discriminate.
D)establish a standardized assessment that is to be used in all hiring decisions.

Question 29

The first major case to examine the validity of psychological tests was

A)Plessy v. Ferguson.
B)Brown v. Board of Education.
C) Hobson v. Hansen.
D)Stell v. Savannah-Chatham County Board Of Education.

Question 30

As a result of the court ruling in Larry P. v. Wilson Riles,

A)schools were forced to provide special classes for non-white children.
B)IQ testing was no longer used to place African American children in EMR classes.
C)standardized tests could no longer be used with bilingual children.
D)all handicapped children were guaranteed services.

Question 31

The type of test that came under scrutiny in the Debra P. v. Turlington case was a

A)standard intelligence test.
B)multicultural pluralistic test.
C)personnel test.
D)minimum competency test.

Question 32

If prospective employees feel they have been treated unfairly, they can file complaints with the

A)EEOC.
B)FDA.
C)SDPD.
D)NYPIRG.

Question 33

What standards does the EEOC apply when investigating the fairness of tests?

A)American Psychological Association
B)American Psychometry Association
C)National Testing Corporation
D)National Education Association

Question 34

Which of the following resulted from the Truth in Testing Law?

A)decreased costs to ETS
B)increased validity
C)better comparison between years
D)increased costs to consumers

Question 35

Which provision of the New York Truth in Testing Law is most controversial?

A)Requiring that test makers disclose all validity studies
B)Disclosing the method by which scores are calculated, even when proprietary methods are used in the computation.
C)Disclosing the meaning of test scores.
D)Providing a copy of the test questions, correct answers, and student's answers when asked by the student to do so

Question 36

Which of the following cases resulted in the decision that employment tests must be reliable and valid?

A)Golden Rule Insurance Company v. Washburn
B)Griggs v. Duke Power Company
C)Hobson v. Hansen
D)Connecticut v. Teal

Question 37

The United States government has the power to control the use of public dollars. How does this affect testing?

A)The government can withhold funding if tests or practices are objectionable.
B)Tests measuring educational achievement are given to school districts at no cost by the federal government.
C)The government often imposes heavy fines when school systems and others misuse tests.
D)Because test development is so expensive, tests are typically only developed when requested by the federal government.

Question 38

Why are interstate commerce laws applicable to testing?

A)Tests developed and published in one state may be marketed and used in other states.
B)Tests used in employment decisions affect individual finances.
C)Students may attend colleges located in states other than their home states, so college entrance exams are controlled by interstate commerce laws.
D)Testing is a business and thus antitrust laws apply.

Question 39

How many complaints from prospective employees does the EEOC receive in a typical year?

A)20,000
B)70,000
C)150,000
D)250,000

Question 40

Which of the following cases resulted in a reversal of the ban on IQ testing for African American children?

A)Parents in Action on Special Education v. Hannon
B)Crawford et al. v. Honig et al.
C)Hobson v. Hansen
D)Debra P. v. Turlington

Question 41

Courtroom decisions over the use of psychological tests

A)typically side with the psychological statistician.
B)are frequently inconsistent.
C)are seldom inconsistent.
D)do not have much effect on changing actual laws.

Question 42

Bakke sued the University of California at Davis, Medical School in the early 1970s after he was denied admission

A)because he was a minority.
B)even though his test scores were higher than minority students who had been admitted.
C)because his MCAT scores were insufficient.
D)even though he was part of a special affirmative action program

Question 43

The major focus of the Americans with Disabilities Act is

A)the prevention of selection bias among disabled individuals.
B)the removal of physical barriers that may impede the education and employment of disabled individuals.
C)the elimination of psychological tests in employment decisions for people with disabilities.
D)the education of the public regarding people with disabilities.

Question 44

In ____, the courts found against a law school applicant and in favor of the university policy of using racial or ethnic group as one of several factors in the admissions policy.

A)Hobson v. Hansen
B)Diana v. State Board of Education
C)Grutter v. Bollinger
D)Gratz v. Bollinger

Question 45

The finding in ____ allowed for the consideration but not the quantification of race in admission procedures.

A)Larry P. v. Wilson Riles
B)Gratz v. Bollinger
C)Hobson v. Hansen
D)Grutter v. Bollinger

Question 46

In the ____ case, the critical result was that focus shifted from test bias to the ultimate benefit to students and curriculum-based assessments rather than IQ testing.

A)Debra P. v. Turlington
B)Diana v. State Board of Education
C)Marchall v. Georgia
D)Crawford et al. v. Honig et al.

Question 47

The Hobson v. Hansen case

A)contested the use of psychological tests for placement.
B)resisted the previous court order to desegregate.
C)forced schools to desegregate.
D)challenged the use of tests for Asian American children.

Question 48

Perhaps the most influential ruling in the history of American public school education was the decision that schools must provide nonsegregated facilities for African American and white students. This was based on

A)Plessy v. Ferguson.
B)Brown v. Board of Education.
C)Hobson v. Hansen.
D)Stell v. Savannah-Chatham County Board Of Education.

Question 49

The Crawford v. Honig case

A)reaffirmed the Larry P. case.
B)lifted the ban on Intelligence Testing for African American children.
C)strengthened the ban on intelligence testing for African American Children.
D)extended the ban on testing for African American children to Hispanic children.

Question 50

In which of the following cases did the court rule that schools could remain "separate but equal"?

A)Brown v. Board of Education.
B)Plessy v. Ferguson.
C)Hobson v. Hansen.
D)Diana v. State Board of Education.

Question 51

Although the Supreme Court refused to hear the case, Wards Cove Packing Company v. Antonio was significant because

A)it strengthened previous civil rights cases.
B)it overturned the Larry P. case.
C)it overturned the Crawford case.
D)it shifted the burden of proof from employer to employee.

Question 52

Specific restrictions have been placed on the use of tests for the selection of employees through a series of Supreme Court decisions. The effect of these decisions

A)denies that tests are valuable tools in the personnel field.
B)denies that the use of tests can continue in the personnel field.
C)has been to force employers to define the relationship between test scores and job performance and to define the measure of job performance.
D)groups and not specific individuals are protected from biased testing procedures.

Question 53

The most significant finding in Brown v. Board of Education was that

A)segregation could exist as long as the quality of the schools was equal.
B)African American children did not have the ability to be in white schools.
C)integration was not in the best interest of the children.
D)segregation denied equal protection under the law.

Question 54

In the case of Golden Rule Insurance Company v. Washburn, the settlement suggested that

A)items for insurance licensing tests should be revised to reduce racial bias.
B)items for police academy admissions tests should be revised to reduce racial bias.
C)items for firemen selection tests should be revised to reduce racial bias.
D)ETS would make an admission of guilt.

Question 55

The most significant racist court case began when attorneys for two white children argued that African American children did not have the ability to be in the same classrooms as whites. What was this case?

A)Plessy v. Ferguson.
B)Brown v. Board of Education.
C)Hobson v. Hansen.
D)Stell v. Savannah-Chatham County Board of Education.

Question 56

In 1992 the University of California Boalt Hall School of Law was investigated because the school

A)was accused of discrimination against Caucasians and Asians.
B)failed to admit enough African American students.
C)failed to admit enough Hispanic students.
D)had never set-up an Affirmative Action Policy.

Question 57

Supreme Court decisions suggest that employment tests involving height, weight, and physical strength

A)must be evaluated using different validity procedures than are psychological tests.
B)must be evaluated using the same validity procedures as psychological tests.
C)are not subject to evaluation for psychometric properties.
D)cannot be used under any circumstances.

Question 58

The Bakke case was significant because

A)test items had to be selected based on the proportions of correct answers given by white and non-white test takers.
B)federal grants could no longer be awarded under special preference programs.
C)it signified a change in attitude about affirmative action programs.
D)it demonstrated the positive impact of affirmative action programs.

Question 59

The case of Parents in Action on Special Education v. Hannon reached a conclusion opposite to that of

A)Plessy v. Ferguson.
B)Hobson v. Hansen.
C)Larry P. v. Wilson Riles.
D)Stell v. Savannah.

Question 60

The finding in the Stell v. Savannah-Chatham County Board of Education case was overturned based on

A)Brown v. Board of Education.
B)Plessy v. Ferguson.
C)Hobson V. Hansen.
D)Diana v. State Board of Education.

Question 61

African American children were disproportionately assigned to EMR classes on the basis of what?

A)Course grades.
B)Classroom behavior.
C)IQ tests.
D)Classroom participation.

Question 62

The Common Core State Standards Initiative attempted to define what students should know in which two subjects?

A)language arts and mathematics
B)mathematics and science
C)science and language arts
D)social studies and science

Question 63

Which initiative was an attempt to coordinate different federal programs designed to improve performance of students in both primary and secondary schools?

A)Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
B)Common Core State Standards Initiative
C)No Child Left Behind
D)Race to the Top

Question 64

Describe the Fisher v. University of Texas case and the outcome. What is the "mismatch hypothesis" endorsed by Justice Antonin Scalia and the public response to this perspective?

Question 65

Which of the following is the only state with a legal ban on IQ testing of African American children?

A)New York
B)Illinois
C)Washington
D)California

Question 66

Under NCLB, the schools most likely to close were

A)not using enough tests.
B)lacking time to prepare for standardized testing.
C)those with the highest needs.
D)the most diverse.

Question 67

Meredith v. Jefferson County Board of Education was significant because it

A)strengthened previous civil rights cases.
B)overturned the Larry P. case.
C)reversed the tide of racial cases related to education.
D)shifted the burden of proof from employer to employee.

Question 68

Which program replaced No Child Left Behind in 2015?

A)Common Core State Standards Initiative
B)Every Student Succeeds Act
C)Race to the Top
D)The Elementary and Secondary Education Act

Question 69

What role, if any, should the courts play in the regulation of psychological tests and why?

Question 70

In the last 30 years, what are the specific cases that have dealt with affirmative action and what impact have these proceedings had on affirmative action programs?

Question 71

Which of the following was NOT one of the policies enacted by NCLB?

A)Schools were required to use a standard national test.
B)Funding was withdrawn from poorly performing schools.
C)Student information was reported to military recruiters.
D)Schools were rewarded for good test grades.

Question 72

After the state of California responded to a teacher shortage by hiring individuals who had not completed teacher training, a study by the Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning found that

A)completion of teacher training has no relationship to student performance.
B)the percentage of teachers who had not completed teacher education was higher in predominantly minority schools.
C)teachers responded to NCLB by "teaching to the test."
D)lack of teacher training resulted in the development of new and exciting educational methods.

Question 73

Describe the main goals and controversies of the No Child Left Behind Act. How were the concerns of this program addressed in subsequent legislation?

Question 74

Which of the following practices was the core of the criticism of NCLB?

A)The use of standardized testing in schools.
B)The number of tests used in schools.
C)The use of tests that have shown racial biases.
D)The use of test scores as a way of achieving accountability for schools.

Question 75

Identify and discuss the implications of four United States federal laws that have implications for the use of tests.