Monday, October 02, 2006
Four: Reeves Cultural Diversity in Evaluation
Inequalities in evaluation were brought to my attention early in my college experience. I attended Syracuse University for my freshman year and participated in a literacy program that placed me in an inner-city elementary school. I read the story of the hen who asks the other animals to help her cook but no one wants to; however, when the cooking is done everyone wants to eat. I had to follow a formatted evaluation that was being implemented to help determine student reading levels. I was evaluating a Hispanic boy on his comprehension and interpretation skills. He was able to recall the important aspects of the story; however, when he was asked why no one helped the hen his response was because it is not their job to help, it is the hen’s job to cook for the men and children. My corresponding teacher immediately marked him as have poor interpretation skills. When we met to discuss the results, I tried to explain to my corresponding teacher that the boy’s answer was based in his personal experience. In his house, his mother is responsible for cooking for the rest of her family. In fact, if he goes into the kitchen while she’s cooking he often gets in trouble. The formatted evaluation did not take into consideration cultural diversity or sensitivity.
Cultural diversity and sensitivity in evaluation is important because it eliminates institutionalized privileges. In my opinion, the issue of cultural diversity in evaluation will always exist when there is a majority in which has privileges. Privileges in evaluation are granted to those who are a part of the mainstream culture and reflect the ideals of the majority because evaluations are designed by people of the majority and reflect mainstream culture. In order to create equality in evaluation, the values of different cultures must be recognized and appreciated (Reeves, 1997).
Evaluations are conducted because feedback is necessary for development. It is important for evaluations to accurately reflect those being assessed. If evaluations aim to be ethical and truly portray who/what is being assessed then cultural diversity is needed to legitimatize the process (Reeves, 1997).
Content bias in tests make the results insignificant because they are disproportionate representations of those being tested. “Just as blatant forms of bias have no place in education, more subtle forms are equally intolerable” (Zoref & Williams, 1980, p. 313).
It is evident that bias in evaluation should be eliminate; however, determining how to eliminate bias by promoting cultural diversity and sensitivity is more complex. I do not have a solution; however, I feel that the first step is to recognize that there is an issue and that this issue must be solved in order to achieve equality. Individuals should take it upon themselves to explore their personal bias and privileges. They should be recognize, appreciate and promote diversity.
[References]
Reeves, T. (1997). An evaluator looks at cultural diversity. Educational Technology, 37(2), 27-31.
Zoref, Leslie & Paul Williams. (1980). A look at content bias in IQ tests. Journal of Educational Measurement, 17 ( 4), 313-322.
Cultural diversity and sensitivity in evaluation is important because it eliminates institutionalized privileges. In my opinion, the issue of cultural diversity in evaluation will always exist when there is a majority in which has privileges. Privileges in evaluation are granted to those who are a part of the mainstream culture and reflect the ideals of the majority because evaluations are designed by people of the majority and reflect mainstream culture. In order to create equality in evaluation, the values of different cultures must be recognized and appreciated (Reeves, 1997).
Evaluations are conducted because feedback is necessary for development. It is important for evaluations to accurately reflect those being assessed. If evaluations aim to be ethical and truly portray who/what is being assessed then cultural diversity is needed to legitimatize the process (Reeves, 1997).
Content bias in tests make the results insignificant because they are disproportionate representations of those being tested. “Just as blatant forms of bias have no place in education, more subtle forms are equally intolerable” (Zoref & Williams, 1980, p. 313).
It is evident that bias in evaluation should be eliminate; however, determining how to eliminate bias by promoting cultural diversity and sensitivity is more complex. I do not have a solution; however, I feel that the first step is to recognize that there is an issue and that this issue must be solved in order to achieve equality. Individuals should take it upon themselves to explore their personal bias and privileges. They should be recognize, appreciate and promote diversity.
[References]
Reeves, T. (1997). An evaluator looks at cultural diversity. Educational Technology, 37(2), 27-31.
Zoref, Leslie & Paul Williams. (1980). A look at content bias in IQ tests. Journal of Educational Measurement, 17 ( 4), 313-322.
# posted by M. Brinker @ 9:15 PM 
