Mary's English 201 Portfolio

The True Purpose of the IQ Test

Mary Parker

English 201-002W

Professor Leslie Jewkes

10/20/14

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Abstract

The popular perception of intelligence, especially as related to IQ scores, is that it is both innate, and stable, meaning that an individual is either born intelligent or unintelligent, and will remain so for the duration of his or her life. This view of IQ is not only false, but harmful. Studies show that IQ test scores can fluctuate significantly over time, and also that intelligence has more to do with education and opportunities than it does with genetics. A poor understanding of the use of the IQ test can lead to false assumptions in government policy, and creates a situation where the true potential of the IQ test to help researchers understand the brain is wasted.

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The IQ Test as a Tool, Not a Measurement

When Alfred Binet invented the IQ test, his assignment was to design a test that would identify which children would need special help when they entered the school system, and to determine what kind of help they might need. As the test gained popularity, it became married in both the public and the scientific mindset with the idea of intelligence as a genetic trait. But, since then, studies have shown this idea not only to be false, but to be detrimental to research. The popular perception that IQ is innate, and that an IQ test score reflects a permanent measure of intellectual potential is false, and distracts from the most appropriate application of the IQ score; its use as a tool for the study of how people learn.

Many think of the IQ test as a means to quantify an individual's intelligence, but this was not the IQ test's original purpose. Instead, Alfred Binet's aim was to find a way to help teachers understand their students. Teachers would use the results of the test to identify children who were having difficulties with certain cognitive skills, such as spatial reasoning or language skills, so that they could place these children in special education programs (Minton). Although this view of the purpose of the IQ test is often ignored, an article from the School Psychology Review argues that this is the true purpose of the IQ test, because this is its most useful application. When applied as a tool to study how children learn, the IQ test has the potential to improve the methods teachers use to teach children and even to help children develop superior cognitive skills. Additionally, the article argues that failure to use the IQ test in a way that benefits the public could cause researchers to abandon it altogether. If that were to happen, educators would lose a valuable resource (Esters, et al).

Today, the concept of the IQ test is well known, even outside of the field of psychiatry, but the understanding of what the test can actually do is skewed. The perception of the function of the IQ test is that it provides a concrete and stable measurement of an individual's intellectual potential. So it is almost considered to be a test that a person can “pass” or “fail” to varying degrees. This belief is not limited to popular culture, it pervades the professional and educational arenas as well. One study, published in Language, Speech & Hearing Services in Schools, showed that this misinterpretation of the IQ test causes the government to neglect providing educational aids to some children who need it, because of the false assumption that they cannot be helped. The study was conducted in reaction to a government policy that only allocates funds to help children who show a disparity between their IQ scores and their academic achievement. The reasoning is that the IQ score reveals the child's learning potential, so a child with a low IQ score and correspondingly low grades is simply performing to capacity and cannot be helped. Children with an average or high IQ, but who do poorly in school are determined to have a learning disability, and therefore qualified for special help. This study sought to show that this assumption, that an IQ score determines a child's potential, is not only false, but harmful because it denies certain children the help that they need. The study found that IQ score was relevant to a child's learning potential only in that it revealed specific cognitive weaknesses that the child needed help developing in order to perform academically and to get a better IQ score (Francis, et al). This is an example of how misunderstanding of the IQ score is not only useless to science, but can negatively affect the individual taking the test.

One of the key assumptions supporting use of the IQ test as a measurement tool as opposed to a method to study the brain is that IQ is fairly stable throughout an individual's life. But a study, published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology, that was conducted over sixteen years provides evidence to the contrary. In this study, researchers first gave the IQ test to a group of children, in order to establish a baseline. They then retested them several times over the sixteen year period in order to see whether or not the scores fluctuated over time, and to what degree these scores varied from the baseline scores. They found that the life experiences of the individuals, from stresses, to access to better education, to feelings of acceptance or lack thereof all affected IQ scores. Children who were transferred from poorly funded schools to better schools with more rigorous curriculum achieved significantly higher scores than in previous testings. Meanwhile, children with unstable family lives tended to score poorly, especially after stressful events (Schwartz, et al). Still, some may argue that these results are simply because of the child's natural development; that a child may have higher IQ scores as they develop, or test average as a child but fail to develop further, lowering the IQ score over time. But this study found that these changes in IQ scores were much too erratic to justify that assumption. Researchers found that a child's score could increase or decrease dramatically or not at all between testing periods, and most children's scores fluctuated up and down over time (Schwartz, et al). This not only shows the folly of using the IQ test as a concrete measurement, but also implies that IQ is elastic and therefore can be improved over time, given the right kind of mental stimulation.

Taking these implications a little bit further, the IQ test could potentially be used as a diagnostic tool to help the individual work on areas of weakness, or perhaps focus on certain strengths. IQ tests are designed to test specific skills, such as memory or spatial reasoning, among others. So, potentially, an individual could see their scores in various portions of the test and even have a coach design mental exercises to meet the individual's needs. If the IQ test were used with this principle in mind, it would benefit youths who struggle in school, professionals who want to be better at their jobs, or even the elderly as they work to maintain cognitive skills, such as memory and reasoning, as they age. Individuals could work on their mental fitness the same way that they work on their physical fitness. Even though some brain training programs claim to help people do this, a better understanding of the IQ test could greatly improve these programs and elevate the overall quality of brain training programs.

A major source of controversy in the study of IQ is whether or not IQ can be considered the result of genetics, or the result of opportunities, education and life experiences. The question is controversial because some researchers have made the claim that some ethnic groups as a whole might be more intelligent than others, if only slightly so. This assumption is based upon observations that some minority groups, when tested, have performed somewhat poorly on IQ tests. But a study out of South Africa has done a lot to disprove this assumption.

Researchers studied a sample group of South African citizens, and divided them into two main groups denoted as either white English first language or black African first language groups. These two groups were divided further by quality of education received and grade level achieved. The participants were given a standardized IQ test, and the results were compared between ethnic groups as well as between the educationally advantaged and disadvantaged. Researchers ultimately found that access to quality education, not ethnicity, was most predictive of group IQ score. Black African first language participants who had received quality education and had access to higher learning easily scored as well as white English first language participants of the same educational background. However, black African first language participants from educationally disadvantaged backgrounds scored poorly, revealing the source of any discrepancy in scores between the two ethnic groups as observed in other studies (Shuttleworth-Edwards, et al). This establishes that ethnic minorities may test more poorly as a whole, not because of genetics, but because of lack of access to higher education and poor quality of education in the lower grades.

One of the most important reasons to change the way scientists and even the public view the IQ test is because of studies such as the South African study. The very fact that it was necessary to prove whether or not Africans were less intelligent than Caucasians shows the stigma that low IQ scores have brought upon certain racial groups. It is an example of how false assumptions about the innate nature of intelligence has caused groups of people to be judged as inferior, when low scores should, instead, be taken as a call to provide these people with better education.

Ethnic minorities are not the only ones who suffer a stigma from the misunderstanding of the purpose of the IQ test. An individual of any race may feel shame, and even hopelessness, at scoring low on the IQ test. While it is not clear just how elastic intelligence is, it is certainly clear that one score cannot define an individual for his whole life. But since many do not understand this principle, a low score could easily cause an individual to give up on intellectual pursuit, actually lowering his IQ even further. In this scenario, the use of an IQ test actually harms the individual, instead of helping him by acting as a diagnostic tool and a framework in which to strengthen cognitive weaknesses.

After all of this discussion on the improper use and understanding of the IQ test, it is helpful to see an example of how the IQ test can be used for its original purpose, and that is to help children learn. A study, published in Child Development, was designed to identify the underlying causes of poor IQ scores in a sample group of young children. The goal was to be able to take the findings and apply them to a new educational model that would help these children catch up to their peers. The study found that some of the children did not even have major cognitive impairments, rather, they had been deprived the opportunity to develop the emotional skills they needed to do well on the tests; in other words, their stunted maturity caused them to score poorly even though they had the mental skills to complete the tasks (Zigler, et al). The data from the IQ scores were needed to establish a baseline for the study, so that the researchers could accurately measure the effects of their experiments on the children, to determine exactly what kind of help the children needed to help them improve their scores. This study is an appropriate example of what can be done when the IQ test is used for its original purpose. Researchers can begin to understand what causes perceived or real intellectual weaknesses, and therefore can begin to develop educational programs that strengthen the mind.

In conclusion, when IQ tests are used properly, they can reveal weaknesses in an individual child's thinking so that the child can be helped, or it can uncover the secrets to intelligence and more effective learning strategies. But when it is used as a concrete measurement of an individual's cognitive potential, the practice is not only misguided, but can be hurtful. One of the most hopeful things that scientists have discovered is that intelligence is not a static character trait, but is something that can be nurtured and grown.

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Works Cited:

Esters, Irvin G., and Richard F. Ittenbach. "Today's IQ Tests: Are They Really Better Than Their Historical Predecessors?." School Psychology Review 26.2 (1997): 211. Academic Search Premier. Web. 18 Sept. 2014.
Francis, David J., and Jack M. Fletcher. "Defining Learning And Language Disabilities: Conceptual And Psychometric Issues With The Use Of IQ Tests." Language, Speech & Hearing Services In Schools 27.2 (1996): 132-143. Academic Search Premier. Web. 18 Sept. 2014.
Minton, Henry L. "Introduction To: "New Methods for the Diagnosis of the Intellectual Level of Subnormals." Alfred Binet & Theodore Simon (1905)." Classics in the History of Psychology. York University, Toronto, Ontario, n.d. Web. 06 Oct. 2014.
Schwartz, Edward M., and Anna S. Elonen. "Iq And The Myth Of Stability: A 16-Year Longitudinal Study Of Variations In Intelligence Test Performance." Journal Of Clinical Psychology 31.4 (1975): 687-694. Academic Search Premier. Web. 18 Sept. 2014.
Shuttleworth-Edwards, Ann B., et al. "Cross-Cultural Effects On IQ Test Performance: A Review And Preliminary Normative Indications On WAIS-III Test Performance." Journal Of Clinical & Experimental Neuropsychology 26.7 (2004): 903-920. Academic Search Premier. Web. 18 Sept. 2014.
Zigler, Edward, and Earl C. Butterfield. "Motivational Aspects Of Changes In Iq Test Performance Of Culturally Deprived Nursery School Children." Child Development 39.1 (1968): 7. Academic Search Premier. Web. 18 Sept. 2014.

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Annotated Bibliography

Esters, Irvin G., and Richard F. Ittenbach. "Today's IQ Tests: Are They Really Better Than Their Historical Predecessors?." School Psychology Review 26.2 (1997): 211. Academic Search Premier. Web. 18 Sept. 2014.

The authors of this peer reviewed paper are both professors. Esters is a professor of counseling, and Ittenbach is a professor of Biostatistics and Epidemiology. In this paper, they discuss the new technology available in the field of IQ testing and how it can be used to improve childrens' education by studying how they learn. One section of the article is particularly relevant to my paper, where they discuss how the IQ test was meant to study how children learn to help improve education, and that an IQ test that is not used to that end is not particularly beneficial. I'll use this when I talk about how the IQ test was not originally developed to give individuals a permanent score related to their intellectual potential, even though this is how the IQ test is thought of today.

Francis, David J., and Jack M. Fletcher. "Defining Learning And Language Disabilities: Conceptual And Psychometric Issues With The Use Of IQ Tests." Language, Speech & Hearing Services In Schools 27.2 (1996): 132-143. Academic Search Premier. Web. 18 Sept. 2014.

This paper has been peer reviewed, and was published in an academic journal. It has contributions from five professors from four universities. This article discusses a study that shows that misuse of the IQ test to diagnose disabilities in children prevents a certain group of children from getting the help they need from teachers in order to compete academically. The authors claim that the current model, where administrators assume that children who don't achieve academically and have a correspondingly low IQ are simply unintelligent, prevents a large group of children from being included in programs that would help them. The authors claim that these children have disabilities that cause the low IQ score, and if those issues were addressed, the children would thrive academically. I will use information from this article to show that the prevailing attitude that IQ scores reflect permanent, innate abilities rather than insight into the current strengths and weaknesses of an individual's thinking results in lost opportunity.

Schwartz, Edward M., and Anna S. Elonen. "Iq And The Myth Of Stability: A 16-Year Longitudinal Study Of Variations In Intelligence Test Performance." Journal Of Clinical Psychology 31.4 (1975): 687-694. Academic Search Premier. Web. 18 Sept. 2014.

This paper is peer reviewed, written by two professors from the University of Michigan. It discusses a long term study that found that individual IQ scores fluctuated over time, often significantly. The authors argue that a clearer understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the IQ test would result in more realistic applications, not only in the field of study, but in public use. I will use this article when I discuss the current implications of an IQ score, particularly a low one. Today it is assumed that a low IQ implies that the individual will forever be categorized as unintelligent, which only hurts the individual by causing them to give up on intellectual pursuits. The fact that IQ is flexible means that no one is limited by a poor IQ score, to a reasonable extent. This also shows that use of IQ score statistics to show that certain groups of people are genetically inferior is unfounded, and that the focus should instead be on providing minority groups with better resources.

Shuttleworth-Edwards, Ann B., et al. "Cross-Cultural Effects On IQ Test Performance: A Review And Preliminary Normative Indications On WAIS-III Test Performance." Journal Of Clinical & Experimental Neuropsychology 26.7 (2004): 903-920. Academic Search Premier. Web. 18 Sept. 2014.

This paper is peer reviewed, written by several professors from universities in South Africa, where they studied ethnic groups in across different social classes to determine whether IQ is genetic, or cultural. The study shows that education, not race is the primary determinant of IQ. One of the issues in the IQ controversy is whether or not IQ scores show that some people are born with higher intellectual potential, and some use such arguments to “prove” that disadvantaged groups, such as racial minorities are intellectually inferior. This study not only shows that that isn't true, but reveals how misuse of the IQ test as a measurement of individuals, instead of as a research tool, can add to hurtful ignorance in regards to the disadvantaged members of society.

Zigler, Edward, and Earl C. Butterfield. "Motivational Aspects Of Changes In Iq Test Performance Of Culturally Deprived Nursery School Children." Child Development 39.1 (1968): 7. Academic Search Premier. Web. 18 Sept. 2014.

This paper is peer reviewed, and written by two professors from Yale. It discusses a study aimed at identifying the reasons why some children have better IQ scores than others. They found that differences in cognitive ability was not the only cause, and that some children who were considered “deprived” had worse scores because of motivational factors. Additionally, they found that putting those children in a program that dealt with those developmental needs helped improve the children's IQ scores more than a cognitive skills focused program. I will use this source as an example of the kind of work the IQ test was developed for, the study of why some children do not do as well as others, and a resource to help researchers find a way to develop new education methods that address these issues.