Abstract

Immigrants enter the United States of America at an alarming rate and many seek the “American Dream,†one of which is to attend college and have a better life. Some of these individuals however, find the educational system foreclosed to them (biases in the testing instruments) due to their multicultural and multilingual (minority) status.

Purpose, Goals, and Objectives:

Purpose: To bring about awareness that with the progression of immigration and the vast expansion of languages in the United States, there is a need to make testing instruments reflective of this paradigm shift within the society.

Goals: 1) Provide statistics/data on the biases that currently exists with the testing apparatuses.

2) Make available current research findings and the implication of biases to the multilingual and multicultural populations.

Objectives: To create awareness that as educators and professionals we have an ethical and moral obligation to help rather than hurt those who are marginalized or disenfranchised due to cultural and/or linguistic differences.

Methodology

This study employs a theoretical design where an extensive literature review was conducted on biases in testing. The results validated the biases that exist on psychometric tests, and how such instruments disenfranchise the above groups and could defer their dreams of attending college. Additionally, this study revealed that a significant number of immigrants and individuals who speak another language were coded as ESL (English as Second Language) speakers and placed in remedial programs. Data was gathered to demonstrate that skills and aptitudes of the dominant culture were used to influence the scores of this studied group.

Conclusions/Questions

The literature review has indicated that theses minority groups are at a grander disadvantage in accomplishing college desires. Yet, if they make it to college, the path can be a dismal one. If this trajectory persists, what implication will this have on minority students who usually need support in navigating the educational system?