Psychology in
the
Schools
Volume
24,
January
1987
PERFORMANCE
OF
BLACK AND WHITE CHILDREN
ON
THE
BRACKEN BASIC CONCEPT SCALE
BRUCE A. BRACKEN DARRELL SABERS WILLIAM INSKO
Memphis State University University
of
Arizona Charles
E.
Merrill,
Inc.
One hundred fourteen matched pairs
of
black and white children were compared in
their performance on the Bracken Basic Concept Scale. It was found that the white
children attained scores that were nearly identical with the national average, but the
black children performed approximately one-half standard deviation below their white
counterparts. The black and white children exhibited similar patterns
of
performance
on the BBCS subtests, suggesting a similar cognitive approach to the tasks.
It is well known that black children as a group perform significantly lower on
measures of intelligence than do white children. Shuey (1966) documented these
differences in her comprehensive review
of
studies that examined racial differences, and
since her publication a number of studies have found similar results. Additionally, Bayley
(1965), Kaufman (1973), Kaufman and Kaufman (1973, 1983), and Tyler (1965) all have
noted that black-white differences are not constant, but increase in direct proportion
to the child’s age; the older the child, the larger the mean score differences.
Bayley (1965) noted that very young children did not evidence the black-white
disparity with the same magnitude as did older children. Kaufman and Kaufman (1973)
found on the McCarthy Scales of Children’s Abilities (McCarthy, 1972) that black
children in the age range
of
21/2-51/2 years did not differ significantly from their white
counterparts, but between 5% and 8% years the racial group differences became signifi-
cant. Likewise, on the Kaufman Assessment Battery (K-ABC) (Kaufman
&
Kaufman,
1983), the reportedly small (one half standard deviation) black-white difference (Kauf-
man
&
Kaufman, 1983) increased proportionately with the sample’s age (R. Kamphaus,
Personal Communication, November 18, 1983). While Bracken (1985), Das (1984), and
Jensen (1985) all have questioned the procedures used to reduce the overall K-ABC black-
white differences, the fact remains that, regardless
of
how the reduction in racial disparity
was brought about, the black-white discrepancy increases proportionately with age across
the K-ABC sample.
It is also well known that significant mean score differences between ethnic groups
on measures of intelligence do not suggest test bias (Cleary, Humphreys, Kendrick,
&
Wesman, 1975; Jensen, 1980; Reynolds, 1982), but indicate that the two ethnic groups
perform at significantly different levels
of
achievement. The cause or causes for the
disparate levels of performance are not the focus of this paper, and, regardless of the
potential causes, the black-white disparity is consistently found to not only increase with
age, but to increase as a function of the instrument’s
“g
loading.” Spearman (1927) was
the first to note the functional relationship between the
g
loading of various tests and
the black-white difference in test performance. In accordance with his concept
of
general
intelligence
(g),
Spearman found that tests assess this general intellectual ability to varying
degrees as denoted by the strength of the test’s loading on the
g
factor as identified through
factor analysis.
It has been found that vocabulary measures are among the best correlates with
general intelligence as assessed by traditional intelligence tests (Jensen, 1980; Matarazzo,
Requests for reprints should be directed
to
Bruce
A.
Bracken, Memphis State University, Dept.
of
Psychology, Memphis,
TN
38152.
22
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