title: No evidence for ethnic and racial bias in the Tryout Edition of the Merrill-Palmer Scale-Revised.
abstract: This research examined a revised version of the Merrill-Palmer Scale, a test of childhood development, to assess the cultural validity of items, i.e., Differential Item Functioning. Archival data were used to determine the Differential Item Functioning of items for 245 African-American, Euro-American, and Hispanic children, ages 3-6 years. Subjects were gathered from all four regions of the United States. Potential bias was examined through the use of partial correlations. Statistical analyses suggest that the Tryout Edition of the Merrill-Palmer Scale-Revised was not systematically biased toward any of the three racial groups examined.
authors.affiliation: George Fox University, USA.
authors.forename: Rachele L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Floyd
authors.forename: Kathleen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gathercoal
authors.forename: Gale
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Roid
mesh_terms: D015982:Bias; D044383:Black People / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D011287:Prejudice; D011581:Psychological Tests / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014481:United States; D044465:White People / Q000523:psychology*; D001741:Black or African American