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I'm not even sure how to respond to that. If it doesn't mean it's less effective, then they shouldn't have a reason to complain about the exam. If, on the other hand, it could lead to less effective interpretation, then that fact applies to their qualifications just as much as their test-taking.

Don't see what's confusing. If it can make them less effective at interpreting a question, it can make them less effective at interpreting other things, too. You can't have one and not the other. I didn't say it is less effective, but it has just as much possibility to be.

I mean in the post above. My point is that if the test can be invalid because their interpretation can be affected by their cultural differences, then their qualification can also be affected by those same differences, whether on this test or any other test. Just in a general sense, if cultural...

I agree, Babyblue.

I never said anything about their scores saying they are lacking in ability. I'm saying that if their culture can affect how they interpret things, that can make them less qualified to deal with certain situations. On the job, not on the exam. I still don't see how you can argue one and ignore...

Nothing stops them from taking on a different meaning. I don't think you really got the point of my posts. My point isn't that you couldn't create a new meaning for words, but that you're comparing two words that are currently very different. The original meaning of gay is not a moot point at...

Well then good for them, but I have to say it sounds ridiculous to me. If you're really going to say that someone's culture can make room for interpretation in a very straight-forward question about firefighting techniques, I don't see how it would even be possible that culture wouldn't affect...

If you're going to argue that culture can affect how someone interprets a question on an exam, then it's just as likely that it affects how they interpret a situation from a high position, and that can very easily affect their qualification. I really don't see how you could argue one and not the...

*shiver* NCLB .... ... :barf:

Completely possible. See, that's what I meant when I said that there needed to be examples of how culture could affect this specific test. But again, I think that it becomes hard to decide whether the cultural difference just makes it harder for them to do well on the test, or whether it does...

In tests like these, the questions have very little room for interpretation. They also have very specific, and generally available answers.

If you read my post, I've already explained in great detail that there is a huge difference. You're trying to compare words with multiple common meanings to a word with one. If you're not going to get upset about someone saying something is "lame", or "cool", or "wicked", or that it "sucks"...

Yes, they do. This is why I said above that I think this is more an issue of social status and education. The article throws in this quote about how minorities test worse, and somehow everything then becomes about the tests being biased, and defective, and favoring a certain group. What nobody...

There is absolutely no concrete evidence or decisions that have been made about it's validity. Again, you're ignoring the "potentially" right before the quote you gave. So we're both choosing a side based on what we happen to think. I didn't say that my instinct made the test reliable. I said...

Woohoo! I'll give myself a gold star on this little board that I..... definitely don't have right here..... :shock: :cool2:

It might sound mean, but I kind of hope she did lose because of that. And not just because I think she's uneducated about the issue and wrong, but because it's such a bad pageant answer. I mean, there are so many ways to answer that question that would not require her to betray what she thinks...

First of all, it said it might favor memorization. Again, nothing conclusive. Secondly, in a situation like this, memorization might actually be exactly what they want to test. They have an oral part as well, but with things like firefighting, police, military, the reason that they have the...

I have to disagree, pathymo. There are some arguments where that type of point works, and some where it doesn't. In the many posts where I've compared gay marriage rights to deaf marriage rights, for example, it's a perfectly valid comparison. Trying to make someone understand by asking them to...

I don't mean to single you out, November, just your post nicely summed up some things. The thing is, I don't disagree with the general idea you're all saying, but that's not really the point. You also can't test fairly by giving everyone a different test. Are there some ways to make things more...

Until there is clear proof that the exam did not reliably measure a person's qualifications for whatever position they would be promoted to, there is no way to say it wasn't valid. Also, I don't think this is a valid comparison. You're saying that when it comes to taking exams, being black or...