Children's IQ

Children's IQ

The controversy of the IQ test has been going on since

the time of Galton. We will take a look at the pros and the

cons of IQ testing.

IQ testing has been debated for a long time and we will

take a look at the pros for IQ testing. A major reason why

IQ testing is so widely used is that they are standardised,

reliable and valid. IQ testing is a very good predictor on

how children will do in school. Today’s IQ testing are set

up that there are certain tests for children and different

tests for adults. The most widely used intelligence test for

adults is the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale or the WAIS.

And the most widely used children’s IQ test is the Wechsler

Intelligence Scale for Children. Intelligence test given in

kindergarten begin to predict academic achievement in the

following years. These test are reliable in the sense that

they yield dependable consistent scores. These test are also

consistent throughout life. Also IQ scores predictive

validity correlates well with highschool grades, about

+0.50.(Cornbach, 1970 ; Bernstein et al, 1997).IQ tests also

correlate with how you do outside school; such as your

occupational status IQ testing for job employment is very

successful at finding new employees and is good at

identifying hard workers. IQ testing also has the ability to

identify gifted students with unique educational and

socio-emotional needs. Also IQ tests can identify students

that are underachievers, have low verbal ability, have

handicaps such as learning disabilities, behavioural

disorders, hearing impairments, visual impairments, and

physical impairments. (Kaufman & Harrison, 1986). As we can

see IQ testing is very good at establishing how you are to

do in your academic career and also a good indication of

your academic standing in life.

There are also many opposing ideas to IQ testing. Past

tests were not good for adults because they were calculated

from there mental age meaning that if a person the age of 40

did as well as a 20 year old then they would have a IQ of

50. (Myers 1998) As we can see IQ tests were unfairly done.

Now “there is no any longer intelligence quotient.”(Myers

1998, pg. 335) Now the average test score for each age is

100. A lot of controversy over IQ tests came after the first

World War. Intelligence tests have labelled people with

certain inferiority’s, especially ethnic and immigrant

groups. Intelligence tests were also given to people who

immigrated to the US, many immigrants were turned back for

having low IQ scores. These people were given a look of

inferiority because they scored low on a English based

test.”Following his 1913 study of arriving immigrants,