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Bias and Sensitivity Review Committee
Issues of bias in test materials are of particular concern because an important tenet of assessment is to ensure that all students have an equal opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and skills.
The review of reading passages and items conducted by the Bias & Sensitivity Review Committee is an important step in the item development process and the information obtained from the committee is essential in helping to ensure that the reading passages and items do not provide an unfair advantage to any particular subgroup of the student population over another for noneducational reasons.
However, it is important to note that the role of the Bias & Sensitivity Review Committee is an advisory one. The final decisions concerning which passages and items are included in the assessment will be made by the New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont Departments’ of Education.
Click here for Meeting Dates and Minutes - 2005
MEMBERSHIP:
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Dr. Alex Markowsky
School Psychologist
Lin-Wood Elementary & Middle School
Main St., PO Box 97
Lincoln, NH 03251-0097
536-9612
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Karen Dow
Reading Specialist/Title I
SAU 59, Winnisquam
Southwick School
50 Zion Hill road
Northfield, NH 03276
286-3611
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Melissa Dumont
ESL Teacher
Parker Varney Elementary School
223 James Pollack Drive
Manchester, NH 03102-4900
624-6338
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Rose Savino
Migrant Program
NH Department of Education
101 Pleasant Street
Concord, NH 03301
271-2273
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Meetings:
The Bias and Sensitivity Review Committee members will meet twice prior to the operational test being administered in October 2005.
March 8-9, 2005 Meeting
At the first meeting on March 8-9, 2005, the committee will hear a brief overview of the NECAP program and review the Bias and Sensitivity Guidelines for the Development of the New England Common Assessment Program document as a group. Next, a member of one of the states’ Department of Education will present some examples of stimulus that contain bias. After that presentation, the committee members will be asked to individually read potential reading passages and complete a rating form for each passage. The passages that are identified as having a potential bias concern will then be discussed as a group and committee members will have the opportunity to make changes to their rating forms if they so chose. The information collected at this meeting will then be presented to the content specialists at the New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont Departments’ of Education for them to consider when making the final selection of reading passages to be included in the assessment.
Meeting Presentation 
May 3-4, 2005 Meeting
At the second meeting on May 3-4, 2005, the task for the Bias and Sensitivity Review Committee will be to review all reading and mathematics field test items developed for the operational test and identify any potential bias issues and/or concerns. These issues and/or concerns will then be presented to the content specialists at the New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont Departments’ of Education for them to consider when making the final selection of reading and mathematics field test items to be included in the assessment.
Meeting Presentation
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