Ensuring Fairness and Mitigating Bias in Psychological and Educational Testing
Abstract
There are professionally agreed-upon standards of practice that all psychological and educational test developers or users are expected to consider (American Educational Research Association [AERA] et al., 2014; American Psychological Association [APA], 2002, 2015; National Association of School Psychologists, 2020). These qualities include three foundational properties; validity, reliability, and fairness as outlined in the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing (hereafter Standards; AERA et al., 2014). Fairness was reconceptualized as a foundational principle on par with reliability and validity in the 2014 Standards even though the testing field has long considered issues of test bias (APA, 2017). Although conceptions about fairness are evolving rapidly, consensus about the nature and crucial features of test fairness are still emerging. Notable misinterpretations and a continued lack of awareness (or actions) about test fairness exist among test developers and users. In this presentation, we will define fairness, distinguish fairness from lack of bias, discuss important core attributes of test fairness, and then discuss how professional standards for test fairness can be applied to educational assessments and psychological testing.
Presenter
Dr. Jessica Jonson | Buros Center for Testing, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Dr. Janet F. Carlson | Buros Center for Testing, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Learning Objectives
At the conclusion of the Webinar, attendees will be able to:
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Define fairness and discuss core attributes of test fairness for psychological and educational tests
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Explain the relationship between fairness and (lack of) bias
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Identify how professional expectations can be applied by (a) test developers, and (b) test users to ensure test fairness and mitigate bias.
Continuing Education Statement
The Society for Personality Assessment (SPA) and the Society of Clinical Psychology, Division 12 of American Psychological Association are approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. They maintain responsibility for this program and its content.
Society for Personality Assessment is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychologists #PSY-0218.
American Educational Research Association, American Psychological Association, & National Council on Measurement in Education. (2014). Standards for educational and psychological testing. American Educational Research Association. https://www.testingstandards.net/uploads/7/6/6/4/76643089/standards_2014edition.pdf
American Psychological Association. (2002). Ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct(amended effective June 1, 2010, and January 1, 2017). https://www.apa.org/ethics/code/index
American Psychological Association. (2015). Professional practice guidelines. https://www.apa.org/practice/guidelines.
American Psychological Association. (2017). Multicultural guidelines: An ecological approach to context, identity, and intersectionality. https://www.apa.org/about/policy/multicultural-guidelines.pdf
National Association of School Psychologists. (2020). The professional standards of the National Association of School Psychologists. https://www.nasponline.org/standards-and-certification/professional-ethics
Dr. Jessica L. Jonson is an Associate Director at the Buros Center for Testing and a Research Professor in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Dr. Jonson leads the development of assessment literacy programming and resources for educational and psychological audiences. Those efforts focus on improving the science and practice of assessment. Dr. Jonson’s research interests include the application of measurement fundamentals (validity, reliability, fairness) particularly in improving methods used to gather evidence of test fairness, communicating professional test standards to lay audiences, and preparing individuals to become more informed test developers and users. She has presented and published scholarly work in this area and obtained various contracts and grants to further the application of this scholarship. She is a co-editor of a bookpublished in 2022 on Fairness in educational and psychological testing: Examining theoretical, research, practice, and policy implications of the 2014 Standards.
Dr. Janet F. Carlson serves as Associate Director and Research Professor at the Buros Center for Testing, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where she directs all aspects of test reviews and information and related print and electronic publications, anchored by the Mental Measurements Yearbook reference volume series. She earned her M.A. and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Fordham University (Bronx, NY), and completed a second internship in School Psychology. A licensed psychologist in New York and Nebraska, Dr. Carlson is certified as a school psychologist in New York and is an APA Fellow in Division12 and other divisions. Before joining the Buros Center, she served for more than 20 years as a tenured member of the faculty at Texas A&M University at Galveston and the State University of New York at Oswego, where she taught a variety of courses including many in testing and assessment. In her current position, she works to further the mission of the Buros Center for Testing—to improve the science and practice of testing and assessment.