Racial/Ethnic Differences in the Criterion-Related Validity of Cognitive Ability Tests: A Qualitative and Quantitative Review

摘要

The correlation between cognitive ability test scores and performance was separately meta-analyzed for Asian, Black, Hispanic, and White racial/ethnic subgroups. Compared to the average White observed correlation (= .33, N = 903,779), average correlations were lower for Black samples (= .24, N = 112,194) and Hispanic samples (= .30, N = 51,205) and approximately equal for Asian samples (= .33, N = 80,705). Despite some moderating effects (e.g., type of performance criterion, decade of data collection, job complexity), validity favored White over Black and Hispanic test takers in almost all conditions that included a sizable number of studies. Black-White validity comparisons were possible both across and within the 3 broad domains that use cognitive ability tests for high-stakes selection and placement: civilian employment, educational admissions, and the military. The trend of lower Black validity was repeated in each domain; however, average Black-White validity differences were largest in military studies and smallest in educational and employment studies. Further investigation of the reasons for these validity differences is warranted.