What are criticisms of IQ tests?
IQ tests have the potential to inaccurately measure an individual's intelligence and cause problems including low confidence, unrealistic expectations, and just a generally flawed understanding of a person's potential.
Sternberg's three-part theory of intelligence suggests that the traditions intelligence tests have three major limitations: (a) the IQ tests fail to measure creative insight, (b) they ignore the practical side of intelligence, and (c) since IQ tests are limited to a fixed time schedule, they wrongly equate intelligence ...
- Identifies Gifted Students. One benefit to IQ testing in elementary school is that tests like the Stanford Binet and Weschler IV can identify gifted students as early as pre-school or kindergarten. ...
- Identifies Students at Risk. ...
- Stifles Potential. ...
- Lack of Diversity. ...
- Validity of Testing.
Which is a major weakness of IQ tests? They tell researchers nothing about a test-taker's creativity or insight. Which of the following provides the strongest evidence for the influence of heredity on intelligence? The IQs of identical twins are more alike than the IQs of fraternal twins.
What is one of the major criticisms of intelligence tests? They're culturally biased.
Tests can be biased in terms of impact (e.g., how they are used) and statistically. Tests can be biased if they treat groups unfairly or discriminate against diverse groups by, for example, "underestimating their potential or over-pathologizing their symptoms" (Suzuki et al., 1996, p. xiii).
Criticisms of the validity of tests involved the following issues: (i) tests may be unfair to certain groups and individuals, including the extremely gifted, the culturally disadvantaged, and those who lack experience in taking tests; (ii) tests are not perfect predictors of subsequent performance; (iii) tests may be ...
A major criticism of IQ tests is that they are culturally biased in favour of white middle class. - Cultural bias: wording of the questions and the experiences on which they are based are more familiar to members of some social groups than others.
Key Points
One criticism lies in the use of intelligence and standardized tests as predictive measures for social outcomes; simply because test scores and outcomes are correlated does not mean one causes or predicts the other.
Some ethical dilemmas generated by IQ tests in the education system include: the ability to make bad decisions about a child whose IQ is in full development, relevance scores for real cognitive potential of children, the poor predictive power of the results of subsequent academic achievement tests, communicating ...
What is a major problem with intelligence tests mentioned in the text?
What is a major problem with intelligence tests mentioned in the text? Some ethnic and socioeconomic groups perform better than others on IQ tests.
Occasionally, a low score can be the result of a lack of cooperation on the part of the child. It is also a difficult test, and has been criticized for being too insensitive to age. Because of some of these reliability issues, the Stanford-Binet test can be readministered after six months.
Another limitation of the IQ-achievement discrepancy model is that it does not assess or inform the quality of instruction received by students. Some students may be identified as having learning disabilities when, in reality, they simply have not experienced classroom instruction that meets their learning needs.
The Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale is considered to be one of the best and most widely used intelligence tests available. It is especially useful in providing intellectual assessment in young children, adolescents, and young adults. The test has been criticized for not being comparable for all age ranges.
The Wechsler scales are widely used in the USA; however, they have been criticized for their low reliability with individuals with IQ scores less than 50, for being culturally biased, and for yielding lower scores with children who are culturally deprived (Kaplan et al., 1994).
Reliability. Psychometricians generally regard IQ tests as having high statistical reliability. Reliability represents the measurement consistency of a test. A reliable test produces similar scores upon repetition.
It is acknowledged that current tests do not measure IQ to a level of accuracy of one point: there is a margin of error, usually considered to be about five points either side of the obtained IQ, which should be taken into account when making a diagnosis of ID (The American Association on Mental Retardation 2002).
ADVERTISEMENTS: (iv) Sometimes achievement tests do not give accurate result as they are affected by several factors like health condition of students, outside disturbances at the time of examination and mental condition of the students etc.
Culture fair test
In most cases, the intelligence tests used are not culture fair. After all, in order to do well on a Spanish IQ test, you would have to be able to speak and understand sufficient Spanish. In addition, migrants often have had less education, and tend to have less developed test skills.
Even though the genetic susceptibility plays a crucial role on the IQ of the individual, various modifiable environmental factors like education, premature birth, nutrition, pollution, drug and alcohol abuse, mental illnesses, and diseases can have an influence on an individual's IQ.
Why is the assessment of intelligence controversial?
According to some researchers, the “cultural specificity” of intelligence makes IQ tests biased towards the environments in which they were developed – namely white, Western society. This makes them potentially problematic in culturally diverse settings.