| dc.description.abstract | This study investigated the possible role of different criteria for use of WISC-R scores as a factor contributing to the overrepresentation of minorities in District A's classes for the educable mentally retarded. It was hypothesized that: (1) scores on the WISC-R are the variables which determine assignment to District A's classes for the educable mentally retarded; (2) The WISC-R assignment variables of the white and black subjects, and the white and Hispanic subjects are significantly different; and (3) the relationship between assignment criteria differences and two handicap categories, EMR and "Other", account for the overrepresentation of black and Hispanic subjects in the EMR category.;In addition to the testing of the hypotheses, supplementary statistical analyses were conducted to describe variations of scores: (1) on the WISC-R Full, Verbal, and Performance Scales, the Human-Figure-Drawing, and the Bender-Gestalt according to ethnicity (white, black, and Hispanic) and handicap category (EMR and "Other"); (2) on ten WISC-R subtests, the Human-Figure-Drawing, and the Bender-Gestalt according to ethnicity; and (3) on three ethnic groups according to three measures (WISC-R verbal and Performances Scales and the Human-Figure-Drawing).;Three simple discriminant analyses and a test of independence Chisquare were used to test the hypotheses. Two and one-way analyses of variance were used in the supplementary statistical analyses.;The testing of the hypotheses indicated that, for samples of white, black and Hispanic subjects, assignment to District A's EMR classes are determined by WISC-R variables, and these variables are different for the white, black, and Hispanic subjects. However, WISC-R assignment variable differences are not related to the overrepresentation of black and Hispanic subjects in District A's class for the EMR.;The supplementary statistical analyses found that the Hispanic subjects attain higher scores on nonverbal than on verbal measures whereas for the white and black subjects this pattern was the reverse. The exclusion of certain nonverbal measures from the EMR assignment criteria, might be a source of bias which serves to the disadvantage of the Hispanic subjects. | |
