1985: APA, along with the American Educational Research Association and the National Council on Measurement in Education, issues a new set of Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing. This is the fifth set of standards spanning a 30-year period. The new edition highlights rights and privileges of test takers and includes attention to nonnative English speakers, along with race, ethnicity, and culture (Wagner, 1987)

1978: Thirty representatives of the Ethnic Minority Psychology Associations (EMPAs) convene with APA leadership to urge APA to provide a strong presence for ethnic minority concerns in the organization (Jones, 1999; Smith & Pickren, 2018; Sue, 1983). They recommended the formation of a Board of Ethnic Minority Affairs (BEMA). Council rejected this proposal, and APA formed the Office of Ethnic Minority Affairs. The following year, the APA Board proposed creating a standing bylaws committee instead of BEMA, but Council rejected this and put the issue to the membership (Conger, 1980). It passed, and APA established the Board of Ethnic Minority Affairs in 1980. In 1990, BEMA was sunset, and the Committee on Ethnic Minority Affairs took its place.

1978: The first report from the President’s Commission on Mental Health is issued, documenting overrepresentation of people of color in mental health statistics and the lack of effective services for these communities. Subpanels attending to individual ethnic and racial groups stressed the presence of discriminatory barriers for people of color seeking services and the need for policies that accounted for the needs and experiences of each group (Grob, 2005).

1986: Logan Wright becomes the first American Indian to serve as president of APA, 93 years after the Association’s founding (Gray, 2012).

1979: Congressional hearings for the Truth in Testing Act are held. White psychologists testified regarding the utility of ability-based scoring and the generalizability of testing. Black psychologists reiterated that standardized testing is problematic and discriminatory (US Government Printing Office, 1980). This same year, the Federal District Court of Northern California rules in favor of five Black students who had been placed in special education classes due to their performance on psychological tests. The case centered on the use of psychological tests and their role in blocking educational and economic opportunities for Black youth in California (Larry P. v. Riles, 1979).

1974: APA sponsors the Vail Conference, leading to recommendations that any psychologist counseling persons of culturally diverse backgrounds must be trained and competent to work with such groups. This led to the establishment of several boards and committees, along with guidelines and further recommendations. However, few institutions offered training in this skill, and in 1977, fewer than 1% of psychologist counselor educators required students to study diverse cultures. Practitioners representing these groups called for specific ethical requirements and reflection of those requirements in accreditation and licensing (Casas, Ponterotto, & Gutierrez, 1986).