In digit span tests, the respondents are asked to repeat a string of digits. There are two variants of the test, forward digit span (FDS) and backward digit span (BDS). In FDS, the digits are repeated in the order of their presentation, while in BDS they must be repeated in the reverse order. The largest number of digits that a person can repeat without error is his or her forward or backward digit span.
It is well-established that the black-white gap is substantially larger on BDS than FSD (see references in The g Factor by Jensen, p. 405, Note 22; see also my recent analysis of the DAS-II). However, replication is always good, so I analyzed black-white differences in the CNLSY sample, which contains FDS and BDS scores for relatively large samples of black and white children. Additionally, I compared the digit span performance of Hispanic American children to that of blacks and whites. Continue reading