Intelligence Quotient

Hello!

I was quite interested in the discussion we had in class pertaining to IQ scores, and their relevance. There were many people arguing that it is incorrect to score people on such a narrow-minded degree of intelligence, and label them with a single number. Then there are those who say that it is NOT a single-sided label, but a useful tool in assessing and mapping individual children's academic needs and abilities. Who is right? Well, I have no place to say that (In my mind I'm right, of course!) But I WILL give my opinion.

I DO agree that students can display intelligence in a variety of diverse formats, as related to Howard Gardner's popular theory of multiple intelligences. (More on that in a later post, I like these!) I fully agree that an IQ score is NOT a sole representation of the intelligence of an individual, and that judging a particular student's wholesome capabilities of off a single score is the incorrect thing to do, and it is inaccurate.

That being said...

IQ tests have been created and altered thousands of times over the years by experts in the field of cognitive and learning psychology. These things aren't just some online poll surrounded by advertisements stating you've just one a free continent! (Cheesy Joke.) Well, okay, LEGITIMATE IQ tests are very complex and useful assessment tools, which have undergone rigorous study to make them as useful as possible. My point is, saying that IQ tests are useless, evil, terrible things that simply set out to label kids and make their lives miserable and underestimate them and be unfair and and and....*Takes breath* Yeah, it sounds pretty ridiculous to hear it put like that, doesn't it?
Look, IQ tests are a VERY ACCURATE measure of a SPECIFIC kind of intelligence, that being the Math, Science, Social, English language core subject academic-type prowess. You know, classic "Nerdy". It has been shown that IQ scores are EXCELLENT predictors of academic success in a traditional classroom. Why? Because they are testing the core skills that go into academic work in a traditional classroom environment, NOT intelligence as a whole. This means they are STILL very useful tools in gauging a child's abilities, and can be very good at predicting the early signs of a learning disability or subject specific weakness that can be addressed to HELP the child.

Amid all of that ranting and caps lock, the message I'd like you to take away from all this is that IQ tests are NOT a final measure of some sort of overarching smarts or intelligence, and should not be treated as such. IQ tests ARE, however, very useful assessment tools for rating a child in specific areas of intelligence, and should not by any means be minimalized or dismissed as without value. To do so is just care-bear and would be detrimental rather than useful in the long run.

NOTE: Care-bear - A word Zach uses to describe theories, practices, ideas, statements, policies, etc, etc that are based on people acting in a way that is completely illogical and unproductive due to a vastly over-exaggerated value invested in trying to make everything "nicer," more "pretty," and perfectly "ideal" for everyone, to the point it ends up being unrealistic and not practical for application the real world at all.

Zach