Intelligence: Standardized Testing

Standardized tests attempt to measure mental aptitudes and compare individuals with
others using numerical scores. Standardized tests are not accurate in measuring the
intelligence of any individual because the tests are biased. The results of standardized
tests can be beneficial when used to give opportunities to individuals, but the results
can also cause harm. Historically, differences in measured intelligence have been used
by one group of people to justify their beliefs onto others.
Alfred Bennet and Theodore Simon were commissioned to make a test to measure a
child's mental age which is defined as the level of performance associated with a
certain chronological age (Yale 2014). This standardized test was created in order to
identify students who need extra attention since the test creators believed that
intelligence is something that can be exercised and strengthened. The IQ test measures
intelligence by assigning a number which is: mental age divided by chronological age
multiplied by 100. This works for kids but not adults because adults dont hit major
developmental steps like children do (Yale 2014).
The psychologist Charles Spearman believed there was only one overall intelligence
which he called the G Factor. His reasoning was that, people who do well on one
cognitive test tend to do well on others. On the other hand, psychologist Howard
Gardner believed that there were many different types of intelligence. His reasoning
was the evidence of savant syndrome, a condition in which a person otherwise limited
in mental ability has an exceptional specific skill, such as in computation or drawing
(Yale 2014).
Standardized tests only measure certain types of intelligence. There are many types of
intelligence including creative intelligence and emotional intelligence which was defined
in 1997 by psychologist Peter Salovey and John Mayer (Yale 2014).
When I took the IQ test individually, my result was 135. There were a couple questions I
was unsure of and I guessed. Since I guessed, that means that the score is not
reflective of my pure ability since it includes questions that were correct just by chance.
Also from personal experience, I got a 1.14 out of 5 on Music and a 4.71 out of 5 on
Social when I took the multiple intelligences test. This is evidence against the idea of a
G factor because I was strong in one area and weak in another instead of having an
overall strength. Similarly, on the ACT standardized test, I scored well on reading and
English and incredibly low on math and science. Over 70% of people who took the test
did better than me on math and science. But, after changing my environment by

attending summer school at bioscience to practice and familiarize with the test structure,
I increased these scores to be 3 points above the average. This shows that the
environment plays a role in test performance.
Socioeconomic backgrounds can impact students taking the SAT and ACT. Higher
socioeconomic status means that individuals are raised in a higher quality environment.
This can include nutrition, access to well-funded schools, peers, special programs, etc.
Some students take intelligence tests in schools with nice facilities. I know friends who
have taken the test with a whiteboard on their lap instead of a desk. Students who
qualify for test fee waivers can only get up to 3 free tests, and those who can afford the
$50 test fees are able to take it a maximum of 12 times. They are also able to pay for
tutors that know the structure of the tests or pay for books that analyze the way the test
creators actually created the questions. Also, some students who know they cant afford
college may not be motivated to take the test because they have no incentive. Or they
might want to sleep--I slept during my practice Catholic High School Entrance Exam
because I had to get rest for responsibilities that were more important to me. This brings
the idea that motivation and IQ test results are not the same.
Motivation can be as important as native intelligence to finding success later in life. IQ
scores are partly a measure of how motivated a child is to do well on the test (Balter
2011). People arent always trying their hardest. In studies where test-takers were
promised monetary awards for performance, they scored significantly higher. The more
money promised, the better they scored. There have been many studies like this
including those by Angela Lee Duckworth, a psychologist at the University of
Pennsylvania. Her team conclude[d] that IQ tests are measuring much more than just
raw intelligence--they also measure how badly subjects want to succeed both on the
test and later in life (Balter 2011).
Also, standardized test scores are not accurate because there is bias in the test due to
context. People that are from different cultural backgrounds than the test makers are
penalized. The SAT includes words that many students have never encountered in their
entire life. Vernacular is something that varies between social and ethnic groups.
Richard Nisbett, a psychologist at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, argued that
differences in IQ scores largely disappear when researchers control for social and
economic factors (Balter 2011). This backs up the claim that race and socioeconomic
status isnt a factor in determining intelligence, just the intelligence tests.
In a TED talk, educator Jamila Lyiscott talks about speaking different types of English.
Code-switching is the way one speaks or writes depending on social context. What is
grammatically correct and articulate in an individuals home is not the same as what is

considered grammatically correct and articulate on a test at school. Even hood

language has rules of where the participles are placed. If test takers are fluent in
different language, the test has a cultural bias. Standardized tests can assume
ignorance based on how one articulates English. Lyiscott brings up the question Who
controls articulation?(Lyiscott 2014). The answer to that question is who the test is
biased in favor of.
If the wording of questions is unfamiliar...minority groups who may know the answer
may not be able to respond because they do not understand the question(s) and/or are
unfamiliar with the test format (Ford & Whiting 2009). What test creators should do is
examine all test items/tasks to see if groups perform differently and eliminate those
items/tasks (Ford & Whiting 2009).
The results of IQ tests are used to compare individuals to the other test-takers. It can be
helpful in children, However IQ tests have been used for bad things. Alfred Bennet and
Theodore Simon feared that the IQ test they created could also label students as lost
causes. And, thats exactly what happened. Students are placed in special-ed classes
based on test scores. A special education class may not be what this student needs and
hinder them furthering education. For students more likely to score lower on tests, IQ
scores limit their opportunities. [T]heir sense of worth and potential as students and
employees can be misinterpreted (Ford & Whiting 2009).
After children grow into adults, IQ tests are not needed for the general population. They
are helpful for measuring changes in brain injury patients, but outside of that are mostly
used as a vessel to push and justify one's beliefs. For example, Lewis Terman tested
immigrants fresh off the boat and used their score to label them as feebleminded (Yale
2014) and a California judge had to rule that IQ tests used to put black children into
special education classes for the educable mentally retarded are culturally biased
(Ford & Whiting 2009).
IQ tests have been used to support Eugenics, or encouraging smart people to breed
with other smart people to create an ideal master race. Intelligence tests were used to
enforce sterilization of people in the United States. Unwed mothers, prostitutes, and
poor women of color were sterilized as late as the 1970s.The Nazis sterilized and
executed hundreds of thousands of victims based on their answers to pseudo IQ
questions. Many questions on these intelligence tests were more about social norms
than measuring actual intelligence (Yale 2014). Tests are biased and unfair when the
items ask for information that minority persons have not had equal opportunity to learn,
[and when] [t]he...test author/developer...arbitrarily decide[s] on the only correct answer

and minority groups are inappropriately penalized for given answers that would be
correct in their own culture (Ford & Whiting 2009).
To conclude, standardized tests are not accurate because they are known to be biased.
Gilman Whiting and Donna Ford, authors of the article Cultural Bias in Testing, bring
up a fundamental question: If a group consistently performs poorly on a test, why do
we continue to use it?
The test creators are well aware that one group performs differently than another group
(Black /CLD or White, female or male, high income or low income) on a consistent
basis (Ford & Whiting 2009). In fact, the test scoring agencies acknowledge
achievement differently for members of minority groups. Blacks, Hispanics, and Native
Americans have separate PSAT achievement awards based on lower score criterion. I
became a National Hispanic Recognition Scholar for taking the PSAT but not a National
Merit Scholar because College Board, the testing agency, knows that Hispanics get
lower scores in comparison to people of other races taking their tests. This is called
Bias in Predictive or Criterion-Related Validity. This is when there is constant error in
an inference or prediction as a function of membership in a particular group (Ford &
Whiting 2009).
In conclusion, Standardized tests are not accurate in measuring the intelligence of any
individual because the tests are biased.

References
Balter. M., What does IQ really measure? (2011, April 25). Retrieved from:
http://news.sciencemag.org/2011/04/what-does-iq-really-measure
Ford, D. & Whiting, G. (2009, December 23). Cultural bias in testing. Retrieved from:
http://www.education.com/reference/article/cultural-bias-in-testing/
Lyiscott, J. (2014 February). 3 ways to speak English [Video file]. Retrieved from:
https://www.ted.com/talks/jamila_lyiscott_3_ways_to_speak_english#t-218992
Yale, K. [Crash Course]. (2014, July 21). Controversy of intelligence: Crash Course
Psychology #23 [Video file]. Retrieved from:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xTz3QjcloI