A volume in Contemporary Perspectives in Race and Ethnic RelationsSeries Editors:M. Christopher Brown II, Alcorn State Universityand T. Elon Dancy II, University of OklahomaFilling in the Blanks is a book dedicated to helping policymakers, researchers, academics and teachers,better understand standardized testing and the Black-White achievement gap. This book provides a wealthof background information, as well as the most recent findings, about testing and measurement conceptsessential to understanding standardized tests. The book then reviews theories and research that has beenconducted which explain the differences in performance between Black and White test takers on manystandardized tests. Most notably, Filling in the Blanks presents several new theories that address why Blackstudents do not perform as well as their White counterparts. These theories present very novel andinnovative perspectives to understanding these test performance differences. The book ends with a host of recommendations that are intended toaddress the concerns and questions of several stakeholder groups. .The series centers on volumes that treat race and ethnicity in conjunction or parallel with social sciences, human studies, public policy, and/oreducation and that disseminate ideas and strategies useful for various communities against a backdrop of race and/or ethnicity in America. Books inthis series foreground novel thinking about race and ethnicity, important policy/praxis issues, developing trends and responses across society, and theconcerns of public and/or institutional constituencies. To the extent possible, books in the series explore the interconnection of multiple perspectives,while concurrently articulating implications resultant from the intersections of race/ethnicity (i.e.gender, class, sexual orientation, creed, ability). Each volume investigates one or more critical topicsmissing from the extant literature, and engages one or more theoretical perspectives.