§ Mr. Bernie GrantTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science, pursuant to his oral answer of 19 January,Official Report, column 807, on what evidence the recommendations of the Black report relating to cultural bias in tests were based.
§ Mrs. RumboldThe report of the task group on assessment and testing recommends that assessment tasks be reviewed regularly to seek to detect and eliminate any bias, particularly in respect of gender and race. I understand that the conclusions and recommendations of the task group were based on evidence from and discussion with a variety of individuals and organisations, including schools, local authorities and bodies responsible for existing assessment schemes, in addition to the collective experience of task group members. We have welcomed the broad framework of the report and will be considering its detailed recommendations, together with any comments received on them.