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Issues relating to the testing and assessment of Aboriginal students

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 October 2015

Michael Ennis
Michael Ennis*
Affiliation:
Thursday Island Special Education Unit (Guidance)
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Abstract

“Tests have been misused to justify race, social class and ethnic discrimination as a racial minority”. (Rescheley, 1979, p. 234.)

The assessment of Aboriginal students as a racial minority is both complex and controversial. All too frequently low achievement scores on standardised tests have placed Aboriginal students in ‘special’ classes for the mildly intellectually handicapped or in non-academic courses (Clark, Clark & Damm, 1979; Cummins, 1980). This paper aims to provide an explanation of the factors influencing the testing and assessment of Aboriginal students. The paper briefly clarifies the terms ‘testing’ and ‘assessment’; offers support for the proposition that Aboriginal students do achieve poorly on both standardised and non-standardised tests; and, most critically, discusses the factors that mitigate against Aboriginal students in assessment situations.

Type
Articles
Information
Queensland Journal of Guidance and Counselling , Volume 3 , November 1989 , pp. 39 - 49
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 1989

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