A Canadian Court apparently has ruled that a Math test for teachers is racially biased and discriminatory against non-white teacher applicants. Apparently white applicants have passed the test at a higher rate than non-white applicants, and according to some liberals this is “proof” that test is racially biased.
I believe the test is biased. It is biased in favor of smarter people who have learned the math (and probably reading) skills necessary to successfully pass the test.
The court apparently believe that equity of outcome is more important that finding qualified teachers. You know, teachers who are bright and know the material and can actually pass the types of tests they will be ‘teaching’ their students to pass.
https://nationalpost.com/opinion/ontari ... ensitivity
You can find more links if you don’t like this source and think it is biased in some way. Just google it. This source might project a view, but the facts aren’t in dispute.
I have read a bit about bias on standardized tests. I have seen some older questions they used to have on the English/Reading Comprehension side of the SAT for example. There were definitely words or phrases on that side of the test that you might not be familiar with based on you socioeconomic background. I don’t know if I agree that proves ‘racial bias’… but it did definitely have a bias based on socioeconomic background; and that overlaps with race in the Venn Diagram of advantage/disadvantage. So I agree that we can/should (and have) modified the test to eliminate those types of biases.
Can a MATH test be racially biased in a similar way? Based on the language say for a word problem? I don’t think you need to know anything about yachting to answer a question like…
Two yachts are competing in a regatta. Yacht A is 500 meters ahead of Yacht B… and there are 3500 meters left in the race. Yacht A is sailing at 25km/hour. How fast does Yacht B have go to catch up to Yacht A before the finish line.
You have to know the relationship between meters and “km/hour”. You don’t have to know anything about Yachts or regattas… these words are unnecessary and anytime I do a math word-problem I just ignore unnecessary facts.
There will ALWAYS be statistical advantages based on socioeconomic factors. Wealth. Education level of parents. Stable homes with two parents. Parents who have more time to dedicate to their children. These advantages exist and will always exist… and frankly I don’t think this is necessarily bad. Part of the reason a parent works hard is to give these advantages to their child. This incentive is inevitable and frankly is helps drive society forward.
