Enhancing the validity of intellectual assessment: the efficacy of the universal nonverbal intelligence test for the Hmong population

Abstract

This paper evaluates the Universal Nonverbal Intelligence Test (UNIT), both in comparison to other contemporary nonverbal scales of intelligence and as a potential means of valid and fair assessment for the Hmong population. Issues surrounding the testing of minority populations, including potential sources of bias in intelligence testing, current practices of intellectual assessment for limited English proficient (LEP) populations,and the efficacy of nonverbal measures of intelligence for Hmong and LEP populations, are explored throughout this paper. The author concludes that the UNIT has remarkable developmental procedures and psychometric properties. In addition, the author suggests that the UNIT functions as an appropriate instrument for evaluating the intellectual skills of Hmong children. A final section includes recommendations for practitioners and future research.