Fairness in psychometric testing refers to the considerations taken, and evidence gathered, to ensure that the measure is sensitive to individual characteristics of the intended audience, and that the intended use and interpretation of scores are valid and just across relevant subgroups (typically defined by demographic characteristics). According to the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing, “fairness is a fundamental validity issue and requires attention throughout all states of test development and use” (American Educational Research Association [AERA], American Psychological Association [APA], & National Council on Measurement in Education [NCME], 2014, p. 49). Evidence for the fairness of the Conners 4th Edition (Conners 4®) comes from many sources (both qualitative and quantitative) throughout the creation of the assessment; for example, the flexibility of the response format (e.g., printable or digital forms, accessible across multiple platforms) is discussed in detail in chapter 2, Administration. The considerations taken during early development phases to ensure cultural sensitivity in the item content (see chapter 6, Development) also provides evidence for the fairness of the Conners 4.

This chapter summarizes the evidence for fairness from a psychometric perspective, focusing on the absence or reduction of measurement bias in terms of the Conners 4 Content Scales, Impairment & Functional Outcome Scales, and DSM Symptom Scales (note that items on the DSM ADHD-related Symptom Scales are subsumed under the Content Scales and are not examined separately within this chapter), as well as the Critical & Indicator Items. Multiple indicators of fairness are provided for the Conners 4 including measurement invariance, differential functioning, and mean group differences with regard to the demographic characteristics of the rated youth’s gender, race/ethnicity, country of residence, and parental education level (PEL; applicable to Parent and Self-Report only; Solomon et al., 2021).