RACE DIFFERENCES ON A READING-COMPREHENSION TEST WITH AND WITHOUT PASSAGES

Previous research has found that test takers can score above chance le vel on reading comprehension tests even when the passages are omitted. The present research investigated whether the effect would vary as a function of race. In Study 1, 386 participants completed a reading tes t with the passages omitted. General mental ability and race were sign ificantly correlated with test performance. In Study 2, 827 job applic ants completed the test as part of an entry-level selection battery. E liminating items for which large race differences existed in Study 1 h ad no real effect on the size of the Black-White mean difference.