ยง 341-a. Standardized testing; reports. 1. Definitions. As used in
this section and section three hundred forty-six-a of this article, the
following words and terms shall have the following meanings:
a. "Test" means a standardized test as defined in section three
hundred forty of this article; provided however, that the test of
English as a foreign language shall not constitute a test for purposes
of this section;
b. "Test subject" means a test subject as defined in section three
hundred forty of this article.
2. Not later than July first, nineteen hundred eighty-eight, and for
one year thereafter, test agencies shall ask each test subject to report
on the test answer sheet, test registration form, or other appropriate
means all of the following information:
a. The test subject's race or ethnicity, including the following
groups: Black, White, American Indian, Asian, Hispanic or other;
b. The test subject's gender, expressed as male or female; and
c. The test subject's linguistic background, expressed as whether
English was the dominant language of the test subject's household.
3. The test agency shall advise all test subjects that they are not
required to provide the information requested under paragraphs a and c
of subdivision two of this section, that they will not be penalized if
they do not provide the information, and that the information provided
will be used exclusively for research, recruitment, talent
identification and planning purposes.
4. a. Not later than September first, nineteen hundred eighty-nine,
the test agency shall prepare and file or cause to be filed with the
committee described in section three hundred forty-six-a of this article
a report relating to each test administered and disclosed pursuant to
section three hundred forty-two of this article by the test agency in
New York between July first, nineteen hundred eighty-eight and July
first, nineteen hundred eighty-nine. Such report shall be subject to the
provisions of subdivisions two and three of section three hundred
forty-one of this article.
b. Each such test report shall show by race or ethnicity, linguistic
background and gender, the mean-scaled scores of test subjects, the
standard deviation of scaled scores, and the distribution of scaled
scores.
5. a. Not later than September first, nineteen hundred eighty-nine,
the test agency shall prepare and file or cause to be filed with the
committee an item report relating to each question used in calculating
the subject's raw score on each test form administered and disclosed
pursuant to section three hundred forty-two of this article in New York
between July first, nineteen hundred eighty-eight and July first,
nineteen hundred eighty-nine. Such report shall be subject to the
provisions of subdivisions two and three of section three hundred
forty-one of this article.
b. Each such item report shall show for each question used in
calculating the test subject's raw score, the item's content area
specification, and where disclosed pursuant to section three hundred
forty-two of this article, information identifying the text of the item,
and the correct answer-rates and R-biserial correlations for all test
subjects, combined and separately by race, ethnicity, gender or
linguistic background as reported under subdivision two of this section.
Such item report shall also calculate the correct answer rates and
R-biserial correlations comparing performance by gender and language
dominance, within race and ethnic subgroups, including language
dominance by the total gender group. Content area specification shall be
reported for each exam to indicate area of knowledge, skill or ability
that an item purports to measure according to the examination's
manufacturer or sponsoring agency. Correct answer-rates shall be
calculated by dividing the number of correct answers for a question used
in calculating the subject's raw score on all test forms administered
and disclosed pursuant to section three hundred forty-two of this
article between July first, nineteen hundred eighty-eight and July
first, nineteen hundred eighty-nine by the number of test subjects to
whom those test forms were administered. R-biserial correlations shall
be calculated by correlating performance on a question used in
calculating the subject's raw score on each test form administered
between July first, nineteen hundred eighty-eight and July first,
nineteen hundred eighty-nine with performance on the tests as shown by
total scores.
c. The test agency shall not be required to include in such test and
item reports under this subdivision and subdivision four of this section
information for any group comprising fewer than one hundred test
subjects.
d. The test report will also include data showing measures of
differential item functioning on individual questions that take into
account differences in overall test performance. Data will be provided
for test items which contribute to the candidate scores and for which
differential item data are available. Differential item functioning data
shall be reported for comparative purposes between the following pairs
of groups: (Black-White), (Hispanic-White), (American Indian-White),
(Asian-White), (Other-White) and (Male-Female). Documentation as to the
methods by which these data have been calculated will accompany the
data. Differential item functioning data shall not be required for pairs
of groups comprising fewer than four hundred test subjects in each
group.
e. The committee may request additional data, where already available
and published, from the test agencies to clarify the data previously
reported pursuant to this subdivision and subdivision four of this
section.