Language Dialect, Age, and Intelligence-Test Performance in Disadvantaged Black Children

Abstract

QUAY, LORENE C. Language Dialect, Age, and Intelligence-Test Performance in Disadvantaged Black Children. CmLD DEVELOPMENT, 1974, 45, 463-468. The effects of administering the Binet in Negro nonstandard dialect and standard English were compared. Subjects were 104 thirdand sixth-grade disadvantaged black children. 52 children from each grade were randomly placed by sex into 1 of 2 conditions of test administration: nonstandard dialect or standard English. A 2 (dialect condition) X 2 (sex of S) x 2 (age level) analysis of variance of IQ scores yielded no significant effect of dialect condition or sex. There was a significant age effect, with third-grade children making higher IQ scores than sixth-grade children. There were no significant interactions. Comparisons of item difficulty yielded no consistent differences between nonstandard-dialect and standard-English test administrations.