Is the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test™ Fair to Bilingual Individuals?

posted by Karen Quinn, The Testing Mom - July 6th, 2012

A big concern for parents and teachers of bi-lingual children is the fairness of standard intelligence tests. Often, if a child gives an answer in Spanish, it must be counted as incorrect, even if the corresponding Spanish answer is correct. This is a major flaw in standardized tests, especially considering the increasingly diverse world in which we live. It’s extremely unfair to score a person lower than their peers simply because they happen to answer in a different language.

While the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test™ -2 is administered in English, Spanish answers are provided in the manual. This means that Spanish-speakers who understand English can take the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test™ – 2, expecting and receiving the same level of quality and accurate results as native English speakers. For children and adults who only speak and understand Spanish, a Spanish-language test needs to be sought out in order to obtain fair results. However, a great many Spanish-speakers understand English perfectly. This is especially true of children who grew up in Spanish-speaking households, but who have been socialized in an English-speaking culture.