Immigrants and selection tests

A recent booklet published by ITRU described some of the problems involved in administering and interpreting selection tests, especially when coloured immigrants are being tested in this country. In general there is a tendency for immigrants to obtain lower scores on tests (of general intelligence, aptitudes or special abilities), which are commonly used as selection devices. If, for instance, a single pass‐mark is used as a criterion of acceptance a smaller proportion of coloured immigrants will be accepted, compared to their English counterparts. This would not contravene the Race Relations Act of 1968, nor Section 26 of the Industrial Relations Code of Practice (1972), if it can be shown that immigrants who obtain low scores on tests always do less well on the job, or in the training, for which they are being recruited. This point can be more easily grasped if it is phrased as a question: does a low score on the test mean the same thing for a coloured testee as it does for an English testee? Does a low score always mean less ability?