Convergent Trends in Black-White Verbal Test-Score Differentials in the U.S.: Period and Cohort Perspectives

美國黑人與白人在語文測驗表現逐漸接近的趨勢：出生年次分析與時期分析

黃敏雄(Min-Hsiung Huang)；勞勃．豪斯(Robert M. Hauser)

Black-White test score gap ； cohort analysis ； period analysis ； verbal ability ； WORDSUM ； 黑人白人測驗表現差異 ； 出生年次分析 ； 時期分析 ； 語文能力 ； WORDSUM

歐美研究

31卷2期（2001 / 06 / 01）

185 - 230

英文

We extend and modify our earlier intercohort analysis of General Social Survey (GSS) data through 1998 and confirm our previous finding of a very significant, long-term Black-White convergence, which is attributable to improvements in socioeconomic background and schooling among African-Americans. We maintain that cohort analysis is essential for an accurate understanding of temporal changes in the Black-White test score gap. Survey year analysis, on the other hand, is likely to obscure changes over time in Black-White test score differences because change occurs primarily through cohort replacement. However, even in an analysis of aggregate changes in the Black-White test score gap across survey years, when conducted properly, we find that the Black-White test score gap narrowed significantly over the period from 1974 to 1998.

我們使用美國「社會變遷調查」（General Social Survey）一九七四到一九九八年的資料，擴充及修改之前發表的研究分析並得到一致的研究結果。由於美國黑人社經背景及教育機會的改善，美國黑人與美國白人在語文能力上明顯有愈來愈接近的趨勢。我們強調出生年次分析才能提供正確的黑人白人語文能力差異趨勢。由於趨勢的改變主要是循著出生年次的時間演進，以資料調查年份為時間單位的趨勢分析模糊並低估黑人白人語文能力差異逐年接近的顯著性。儘管如此，當我們適切地處理資料，以資料調查年份為時間點的趨勢分析仍然指出黑人白人在語文測驗的表現上，從一九七四到一九九八年有明顯逐年接近的趨勢。

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