The Grammatic Closure subtest of the Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Abilities (ITPA) was examined to determine the extent to which an alleged bias exists against speakers of nonstandard English. A total of 23 of the 33 subtest items was identified as potentially high-risk for dialect speakers. Data collected from 38 black and 38 white children were analyzed for error responses; for 11 of the high-risk items, responses that were appropriate in nonstandard English accounted for 52–100% of all errors. The authors conclude that this subtest is inappropriate for use as a diagnostic instrument with children who use nonstandard English, even infrequently.
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