One complaint you often hear about standardized tests is that they’re racist or sexist. The complaint is usually framed this way:

The average score of group X is higher than the average score of group Y, so the test must be biased against group Y in favor of group X.

This argument is used to show that standardized tests are skewed in favor of men over women, or in favor of whites over blacks and latinos, or in favor of asians over whites, or in favor of northerners over southerners, or who knows what. (Here’s an example of the argument being applied to the “gender gap” on the SAT, from FairTest.org: http://www.fairtest.org/facts/genderbias.htm)

It’s certainly true that a standardized test can be racist or sexist by design. It’s also true that previous versions of the SAT, in particular, included racist and sexist test items.

But the major standardized tests have been changed many times in the past few decades, and no credible argument can be made that the tests are still racist or sexist in themselves . . .

full text: Discrimination in Standardized Tests

Free LSAT sample questions, tests, and prep materials are available for download all over the Internet.  That sounds great, right?  Unfortunately, a lot of that stuff is garbage.

Here, then, is an insider’s guide to the kinds of things you’ll find when you look for free LSAT preparation on the Internet . . .

full text: On Free LSAT Stuff

A student recently sent me an email that included the following:

Thanks again for your help. I took the LSAT twice (with a two-year stint in the Peace Corps somewhere in between). The first time I prepared with a Kaplan course. The second time I took a Testmasters course and used some Powerscore materials to prepare for the test. In the end, I thought Kaplan was a complete waste of time

 . . .

full text: Making a Thousand-Dollar Mistake

Last week we talked about guessing on the SAT, and saw how the standard guessing advice doesn’t actually work against real SAT test questions. This week, we’ll take a look at guessing on the LSAT . . .

full text: Who wants a handful of free LSAT points?

The other day, I received this email:

hi there- i am interested in purchasing your lsat guide but am concerned that it will not have the latest up to date information- it says it is to be used with the 10 real lsat tests from 1996 and this is obviously 2007- i specifically need help with the games section which has changed significantly since 1996- please let me know if your guide is current and will be helpful-

The question is well-meaning, but . . .

full text: Does The LSAT Change Over Time?

Sometimes my LSAT students get a little worried when they realize I don’t believe in classifying logic games.

You see, most test-prep guys pad their LSAT materials by  . . .

full text: Linear, Grouping, Linear/Grouping, Grinnier/Looping: LSAT Logic Games De-Mystified

I was poking around on the Internet the other day and I came across this:

 http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/102/test-prince.html

It’s an article about Robin Singh, the founder of TestMasters, which is one of the more fanatical test prep companies on the national scene (think 80-hour classes, materials delivered by courier, and over 5,000 sample LSAT questions to work with).

According to the article . . .

full text: The LSAT, The Contrapositive, And A Test-Prep Rock Star