Integrating Cultural Considerations and Fairness in Psychological Assessment

Assessment and testing are a major part of the professional practice of psychologists. This chapter addresses how testing practices align with fairness expectations in the 2014 Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing (American Educational Research Association, American Psychological Association, & National Council on Measurement in Education), practice guidelines of the American Psychological Association, and ethical principles and standards. Understanding the complexities of cultural competence and ongoing attention to cultural humility are identified as important foundations for assessment practices. Culture-related constructs that impact the assessment process in terms of accessibility, ecological validity, cultural loading, cultural test bias, and culture equivalence are reviewed. Variables such as language and communication, acculturation, home environment, socioeconomic status, and geographic residence are discussed in relation to their potential impact on test performance. Features of competent multicultural assessment, including obtaining contextual information, observing behavior, and test administration, are highlighted. Fairness is discussed in relation to popular intelligence and personality measures.

Keywords: cultural competence in assessment; cultural equivalence; cultural loading; ecological validity; fairness in intelligence and personality measures