Assignment 1: Discussion Assignment
The discussion assignment provides a forum to discuss the relevant topics for this
week based on the course competencies covered. For this assignment there are
two parts. Make sure to answer all questions for Part 1 and Part 2 by Week 3, Day
3. Provide a detailed response to the topic questions in the discussion area. For this assignment post your responses directly in the discussion area. Do not use attached
documents. tions Part1 In the book The Mismeasure of Man, Stephen J. Gould (1996) discusses the culture behind biological determinism—the belief that the disparity in status among various
groups arises from innate biological differences. He criticizes the practice of
measuring intelligence as a single quantity, something that had become a common
practice in the United States. In the United States, intelligence testing became a
device of power and its use led to the Immigration Act of 1924, which primarily
restricted the entry of people from Southern and Eastern Europe due to their
tendency to score low on the test. Unbelievably, immigrants were frequently tested in
English when they arrived in the United States. Even worse, many were rejected
based on the perspective that they had a dull and unintelligent appearance. How does this relate to multicultural psychology? In the modern society, people are
tested all the time and certain cultural groups tend to perform worse than others on
standardized tests. The end result of a poor score is not deportation; however, a poor
score could limit access to higher education and other resources. In elementary
school, poor test scores might even lead to negative labels and tracking, which could
change the life of a child. There is no denying that there are cultural differences with
regard to education and testing. However, there are some parallels between what
happened to the immigrants and what often happens to different cultural groups as
they appear for aptitude or achievement tests. Many are so unfamiliar and confused
when they go for testing that they are beset with anxiety. In such situations, the
people are totally unfamiliar with the format of the test and the language. In your response, address the following: – Analyze the impact of test familiarity and general language comprehension on
standardized testing. Do certain cultural groups have an advantage because
of cultural practices and exposure? I After taking a moment to conduct an Internet search on the scholastic
assessment test (SAT) scores by socioeconomic level, describe why the
socioeconomic level correlates with performance. Is there a culture associated
with different socioeconomic levels? – Analyze whether it is fair to compare the performance of cultural groups that
do not speak English with those that have a good command over the English
language.
week based on the course competencies covered. For this assignment there are
two parts. Make sure to answer all questions for Part 1 and Part 2 by Week 3, Day
3. Provide a detailed response to the topic questions in the discussion area. For this assignment post your responses directly in the discussion area. Do not use attached
documents. tions Part1 In the book The Mismeasure of Man, Stephen J. Gould (1996) discusses the culture behind biological determinism—the belief that the disparity in status among various
groups arises from innate biological differences. He criticizes the practice of
measuring intelligence as a single quantity, something that had become a common
practice in the United States. In the United States, intelligence testing became a
device of power and its use led to the Immigration Act of 1924, which primarily
restricted the entry of people from Southern and Eastern Europe due to their
tendency to score low on the test. Unbelievably, immigrants were frequently tested in
English when they arrived in the United States. Even worse, many were rejected
based on the perspective that they had a dull and unintelligent appearance. How does this relate to multicultural psychology? In the modern society, people are
tested all the time and certain cultural groups tend to perform worse than others on
standardized tests. The end result of a poor score is not deportation; however, a poor
score could limit access to higher education and other resources. In elementary
school, poor test scores might even lead to negative labels and tracking, which could
change the life of a child. There is no denying that there are cultural differences with
regard to education and testing. However, there are some parallels between what
happened to the immigrants and what often happens to different cultural groups as
they appear for aptitude or achievement tests. Many are so unfamiliar and confused
when they go for testing that they are beset with anxiety. In such situations, the
people are totally unfamiliar with the format of the test and the language. In your response, address the following: – Analyze the impact of test familiarity and general language comprehension on
standardized testing. Do certain cultural groups have an advantage because
of cultural practices and exposure? I After taking a moment to conduct an Internet search on the scholastic
assessment test (SAT) scores by socioeconomic level, describe why the
socioeconomic level correlates with performance. Is there a culture associated
with different socioeconomic levels? – Analyze whether it is fair to compare the performance of cultural groups that
do not speak English with those that have a good command over the English
language.
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