The Truth About IQ Tests
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A primary issue about interpreting an IQ score is that errors commonly occur in the analysis of IQ tests. Intelligence tests measure a variety of mental skills, which are lumped together and called “intelligence.” The result is an IQ score. This number is supposed to be a measurement of a child’s general ability.
The problem is that the broad IQ score does not reveal scores for each individual skill. In fact, an average or above average IQ score may result in the misleading assumption that all the underlying mental skills required for good learning or reading are equally high. If a student performs below expectations, it is likely that one or more of the necessary skills are significantly weak, thus signaling a learning struggle but not pinpointing the source of the struggle.
This is why IQ scores tend to either mask or overlook learning problems that deserve deliberate and specific attention.
Some of the other prevailing problems that we need to know about IQ tests before we conduct one are as follows. Intelligence tests are unreliable predictors of performance, and are inaccurate (sometimes varying by as much as 15 points from test to test.) The tests are also of inflated importance for people with learning disabilities. Most have deficiencies in one or more component skills that are part of the tests (such as word attack) and may lead to underestimating the real intelligence of that person. The IQ score may be lower than someone who doesn’t have these problems, even though they have identical reasoning and problem-solving skills.
Alfred Binet developed the test in 1904 to separate intellectually normal from inferior students. The purpose was to send lesser children to special education. He, however, himself cautioned that the test wasn’t suitable as “a general device for ranking all pupils according to mental worth.” It is therefore important to understand more about IQ tests and its intended purpose before we misuse it.
What is your opinion on IQ tests being used to measure a student’s ability?
