Critically examining language bias in the South African adaptation of the WAIS-III

SA Journal of Industrial Psychology

 
 
Field Value
 
Title Critically examining language bias in the South African adaptation of the WAIS-III
 
Creator Foxcroft, Cheryl D Aston, Susan
 
Subject — Wechsler adult intelligence scale, WAIS-III; Language; Test adaptation; Test bias
Description In response to the growing demand for a test of cognitive ability for South African adults, the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) adapted the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scales, third edition (WAIS-III) for Englishspeaking South Africans. The standardisation sample included both first and second language English speakers who were either educated largely in English or Afrikaans. The purpose of this article is to critically examine the adaptation process undertaken by the HSRC when standardising the WAIS-III for English-speaking South Africans by deliberating whether sufficient attention was paid to establishing if the measure was equivalent for various groups of English first and second language test-takers. In performing this critical examination, international test adaptation guidelines and standards, psychometric conventions, and national and international research findings were contemplated. The general conclusion reached was that the equivalence of the WAIS-III across diverse language groups has not been unequivocally established and there are indications that some bias may exist for English second language test-takers, especially if they are black or Afrikaans-speaking. Based on these conclusions, recommendations are made regarding the way forward.
 
Publisher AOSIS
 
Contributor
Date 2006-10-29
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion — —
Format application/pdf
Identifier 10.4102/sajip.v32i4.243
 
Source SA Journal of Industrial Psychology; Vol 32, No 4 (2006) 2071-0763 0258-5200
 
Language eng
 
Relation
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:

https://sajip.co.za/index.php/sajip/article/view/243/240
 
Coverage — — —
Rights Copyright (c) 2006 Cheryl D Foxcroft, Susan Aston https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
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