Multicultural Considerations in TestingPeople use standardized tests in school and at the workplace. They use standardized tests when determining whether a person is qualified for a certain position. This has often resulted to many problems and challenges. For a long time, standardized tests did not consider the culture and ethnicities of the person taking the tests. This affected the results, as it tended to favor people from a certain group, and discriminate towards other people. This is especially more prevalent in schools, where the standardized tests measure a students performance. Research indicates that African American students do not perform well on these tests, especially in reading achievements (Flowers & Flowers, 2008). Standardized tests do not reveal much about a persons academic potential.When administering tests, it is important to consider that the people taking the test do not come from the same background. Family and community background, language use, literary experience, and socioeconomic background affects learning (Flowers & Flowers, 2008). People from different cultures have different social and cultural experiences. They do not gauge things in the same manner. Some of the seemingly relevant things in one culture may be of lower importance and value in another culture. This affects the students perception about the world, and it ultimately affects the way people make their choices. The socioeconomic background of the people taking the test matters, and it influences the results of the test. Wealthy people have the ability to get better learning resources. On the other hand, people from poor and low-income families do not have that chance. They learn in ill-equipped schools, and they do not get any support outside the school system. It therefore follows that the two groups have different learning experiences and learning outcomes. Families determine the outcome of the tests. Family participation and belief on the importance of education determines how the students perform on the standard tests.Perhaps one of the most challenging factors when determining a test is the language that the person uses. Early language development is important, and it affects learning at later stages (Flowers & Flowers, 2008). Although many people in the United States speak and use the English language, they all have different dialects. Other than being social constructs, dialects also reflect the peoples culture and history. Many educators recognize the different dialects among people. However, they do not understand the dialects, and some of them take it as a phonological or articulation disorder. Many African Americans speak have a different English dialect. They speak African American English, which is different from the standard American English. As Wilson points out, for many African Americans, speaking standard American English in schools is like learning a second language (Wilson, 2012). Many of them find it challenging to speak or comprehend the standard American English. Educators do not consider this factor when they are planning and setting the standardized tests. This then reduces the chances of African American students passing the tests.Students face stereotype threat, when they conform to the negative stereotypes concerning their culture. For instance, African American students are aware of the statistics and data referring to their performance on standardized scores. Some of them may conform to this mentality by believing that they cannot perform better. This affects their attitude, as some students end up believing that they cannot perform better because of their ethnicity. This attitude determines how they will perform on the tests.Standardized tests focus on scores at the expense of learning. Test scores do not necessarily reflect a students knowledge on the subjects that he or she takes. The teaching methods affect these scores. More educators are concerned with ensuring that they have high to average scores, and they end up using learning methods, which only encourage the students to pass their exams. The situation has become worse since the introduction of statewide exams, because they use the standardized tests. Some people blame low scores from African American students to bias. They claim that standardized tests are biased in many ways. They are set by a person from a certain culture, and they are done by people from different cultures. It has become increasingly hard to ensure that the tests are neutrally cultured. One of the ways of ensuring that this does not happen is by using non-cognitive variables when testing individuals. This includes variables such as self-concept, long-term goals, non-traditional leadership, handling racism, and developing community.The main intention and objective of administering tests in schools is to provide a basis and a means of helping the students in their weak areas. It enables the educators to know the learning strengths and weaknesses of the students. It is therefore important to find a fair test that will enable the assessors to know how the students are fairing. Educators need to identify their needs when they are assessing the students, and they should not just concentrate on finding better ways to improve the scores. Non-cognitive variables measure the students levels of motivation, perception and adjustments. When measuring the self-concept variables of the students, the assessors aim to find out whether the students are confident, determined, independent, and whether they have the strength of character. They are used to determine how the students will adjust in college, and whether they will succeed. Assessors measure the students strengths and deficiencies and check whether the student puts any effort in self-development, and whether the students find the need to broaden his or her individuality. This ensures that students do well in their areas of interest.Assessors measure the students knowledge of handling racism. This incorporates the race system, which not only includes color, but also incorporates sex, age and other like factors. They assess whether the students have a realistic view of racism, and whether they are committed to improving the system. They check whether the student is able to handle racism, and whether the student is hostile to the society. The main aim is to ensure that students to deal with the policies, procedures and barriers associated with all forms of racism. This variable is especially important for students who face the stereotype threat. The assessors measure the students long-term goals by checking whether the students know how to plan ahead and set goals. They assess whether the student knows the importance and value of having a strong support system by taking advantage of the available support network (Sedlacek, 2003).They also assess a students leadership experience. They check whether the student shows any signs of strong leadership in any area of his life such as sports, social groups, and non-educational groups. By using non-traditional groups to check for the students leadership ability, assessors ensure that they recognize more people, who would not be considered leaders in the traditional setting. African Americans students show different leadership abilities and roles than their white counterparts. The check whether the students are involved in their communities by participating in community services. African American students participate in their communities in different ways. They identify different race, cultural and gender related areas, where they can participate. These groups give them a platform and a base to develop their self-concept, and they develop a positive self-concept. The assessors examine the students knowledge in any field of interest (Sedlacek, 2003). These variables do not discriminate the students in any way. The variables ensure that the students do not feel intimidated in any way, since they are not about school performance, and competition with others.References:Flowers, A. T. & Flowers, A. L. (2008). Factors affecting urban African American high scholl students achievement in reading. , (2), 154-171Rushton, P., & Jensen, R. A. (2005). Thirty years of research on race differences in cognitive ability. , (2), 235-294Sedlacek, E. W. (2003). Alternative admissions and scholarship selection measures in higher education. , (4), 263-272.Whaley, L. A., & Noel, L. (2011). Sociocultural theories, academic achievement, and African American adolescents in a multicultural context: a review of the cultural incompatibility perspective. (2), 149-168Wilson, S. (2012). African American English: Dialect mistaken as an articulation disorder. (1), 1-12