COGNITIVE ASSESSMENT IN EDUCATION IN A MULTICULTURAL SOCIETY

The question is raised whether instruments used for cognitive assessme nt in educational settings such as school achievement tests and intell igence tests ore adequate for a multicultural society. Empirical studi es often show that migrant pupils score consistently lower on these te sts than native pupils. Various factors are discussed that can challen ge the equivalence (and hence, the comparability) of the test scores o btained in these groups such as intergroup differences in verbal skill s, in cultural values and norms, and in test-wiseness. Commonly applie d remedies to enhance the suitability of cognitive tests are discussed : adaptation of existing tests, the use of different norms, statistica l and linguistic procedures to correct for item bias, and the developm ent of new tests. Conclusions and implications are discussed.