Review of Naglieri and Ford (2003): Does the Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test Identify Equal Proportions of High-Scoring White,Black,and Hispanic Students?

Abstract

In a recent article in this journal, Naglieri and Ford (2003) claimed that Black and Hispanic students are as likely to earn high scores on the Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test (NNAT; Naglieri, 1997a) as White students. However, the sample that Naglieri and Ford used was not representative of the U.S. school population as a whole and was quite unrepresentative of ethnic subgroups within that population. For example, only 5.6% of the children in their sample were from urban school districts, and both Black and Hispanic students were relatively more likely to be from high socioeconomic status (SES) families than were White families. Further, the mean and standard deviation in the sample differed significantly from the NNAT fall test norms, which were based on the same data. Finally, White-Black and White-Hispanic differences reported by Naglieri and Ford were smaller than those reported by Naglieri and Ronning (2000a) in a previous analysis of the same data set in which students were first matched on several demographic variables. For these reasons, I argue that the authors’ claims are not supported by the data they present.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Anastasi, A. , & Urbina, S. (1997). Psychological testing (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Flanagan, A. , & Grissmer, D. (2001, February). The role of federal resources in closing the achievement gaps of minority and disadvantaged students. Paper presented at the Brookings conference on the Black-White test score gap, Washington, DC.

Hedges, L. V. , & Nowell, A. (1998). Black-White test score convergence since 1965. In C. Jencks & M. Phillips (Eds.), The Black-White test score gap (pp. 149-181). Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.

Jencks, C. , & Phillips, M. (Eds.). (1998). The Black-White test score gap. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.

Jensen, A. R. (1984). The Black-White difference on the K ABC: Implications for future tests. Journal of Special Education, 18, 377-408.

Jensen, A. R. (1998). The g factor: The science of mental ability. Westport, CT: Praeger.

Kaufman, A. F. , & Kaufman, N. L. (1983). The Kaufman assessment battery for children. Circle Pines, MN: American Guidance Service.

Koretz, D. , Lynch, P. S. , & Lynch, C. A. (2000). The impact of score differences on the admission of minority students: An illustration. Statements of the National Board on Educational Testing and Public Policy, 1(5). Retrieved October 19, 2004, from http://www.bc.edu/research/nbetpp/publications/v1n5.html

Lohman, D. F. (2003). A comparison of the Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test (NNAT) and Form 6 of the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT). Retrieved October 19, 2004, from http://faculty.education.uiowa.edu/dlohman

10.

Lohman, D. F. (in press-a) An aptitude perspective on talent: Implications for the identification of academically gifted minority students. Journal for the Education of the Gifted.

11.

Lohman, D. F. (in press-b). The role of nonverbal ability tests in identifying academically gifted students: An aptitude perspective. Gifted Child Quarterly.

12.

Naglieri, J. A. (1997a). Naglieri nonverbal ability test. San Antonio, TX: Harcourt Brace.

13.

Naglieri, J. A. (1997b). Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test: Multilevel technical manual. San Antonio, TX: Harcourt Brace.

14.

Naglieri, J. A. (2003a, November). Assessment of diverse populations with the Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Tests. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the National Association for Gifted Children, Indianapolis, IN.

15.

Naglieri, J. A. (2003b). Fair assessment of minority children with verbal/achievement reduced intelligence tests. Retrieved October 19, 2004, from http://ccd.gmu.edu/Naglieri/Fair%2520assessment%2520NASP%2520%252703.htm

16.

Naglieri, J. A. (2003c). Testing diverse populations with the Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test (NNAT). Retrieved October 14, 2004, from http://www.mypsychologist.com/nnat_min.htm

17.

Naglieri, J. A. , & Das, J. P. (1997). Cognitive assessment system. Itasca, IL: Riverside.

18.

Naglieri, J. A. , & Ford, D. Y. (2003). Addressing underrepresentation of gifted minority children using the Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test (NNAT). Gifted Child Quarterly, 47, 155-160.

19.

Naglieri, J. A. , & Ronning, M. E. (2000a). Comparison of White, African American, Hispanic, and Asian children on the Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test. Psychological Assessment, 12, 328-334.

20.

Naglieri, J. A. , & Ronning, M. E. (2000b). The relationship between general ability using the Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test (NNAT) and Stanford Achievement Test (SAT) reading achievement. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 18, 230-239.

21.

Oakland, T. , & Lane, H. B. (2004). Language, reading, and readability formulas: Implications for developing and adapting tests. International Journal of Testing, 4, 239-252.

22.

Raven, J. (2000). The Raven’s Progressive Matrices: Change and stability over culture and time. Cognitive Psychology, 41, 1-48.

23.

Raven, J. C. , Court, J. H. , & Raven, J. (1983). Manual for Raven’s Progressive Matrices and Vocabulary Scales, section 4: Advanced Progressive Matrices, sets I and II. London: H. K. Lewis.

24.

Thorndike, R. L. , Hagen, E. P. , & Sattler, J. M. (1986). The Stanford-Binet intelligence scale: Fourth edition. Itasca, IL: Riverside.