Test bias? All tests are biased, by design, such that if certain criteria are met, the test is passed, and if they are not met, the test is failed. A test that is not biased in any way is a test that is useless for testing anything.

Racial bias in tests, of course, should be eliminated wherever possible, but simple test performance should not be considered proof of it. Even if everybody of any particular race failed the test, there is always a chance all the people who took the test simply didn’t meet the criteria being tested, rather than there being any inherent racial bias within the test. I’ll buy that the terminology used in the test may have been a factor that discriminated against certain races, but at the same time, if the firefighters’ equipment happens to be written entirely in a particular dialect of English, then understanding that dialect should be part of the qualifications for the job, and thus for passing the test. Fair or unfair, it does actually matter as far as work performance goes.