Intelligence info

Intelligence Tests

A number of psychologists have argued that intelligence can be quantified, primarily through testing. In 1905, Alfred Binet and Theodore Simon devised a system for testing intelligence, with scoring based on average mental levels for various age groups. However the German psychologist L. Wilhelm Stern was the first to coin the term intelligence quotient (IQ), a figure derived from the ratio of mental age to chronological age. Although Stern’s method for determining IQ is no longer in common use, the term IQ is still used today to describe the results in several different tests. Today, an average IQ score is considered to be 100, with deviations based on this figure. Intelligence tests do not measure creativity, character, personality, or other important differences among individuals, nor are they intended to. While there are different types of intelligence tests, they all measure the same intelligence. Some use words or numbers and require specific cultural knowledge (like vocabulary). Others do not, and instead use shapes or designs and require knowledge of only simple, universal concepts. Most people cluster around the average (IQ 100). Few are either very bright or very dull: About 3% of Americans score above IQ 130. Intelligence tests are not culturally biased against any race, for example in America, IQ scores predict equally and accurately for all Americans (African Americans, Caucasians, Hispanics …), regardless of race and social class. Individuals who do not understand English well can be given either a nonverbal test or one in their native language. The main criticism of intelligence testing is that it is difficult to insure that test items are equally meaningful or difficult for members of different sociocultural groups. Testing is often considered validated in part, however, by the finding that the quantity measured by the tests can be closely correlated in American society with career and academic achievement.