Which populations are at a disadvantage for traditional iq test

For more information, please see our University Websites Privacy Notice. Donna Y. There is a great deal of concern and debate about the low performance of racially and linguistically diverse students—African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Native Americans—on standardized tests, as well as their under-representation in gifted education.

Nowhere are the debates and controversies surrounding intelligence more prevalent than in gifted education and special education. These two educational fields rely extensively on tests to make educational and placement decisions.

In gifted education, low test scores often prevent diverse students from being identified as gifted and receiving services; in special education, low test scores often result in identifications such as learning disabled, mentally retarded, and so forth. Department of Education, In one camp, scholars argue that the low test performance of minority students can be attributed to cultural deprivation or disadvantage s ; connotatively, this refers to the notion of diverse students being inferior to other students see Rushton, Unfortunately, deficit thinking orientations are present even today e.

When the focus is on what diverse students cannot do rather than what they can do, then they are not likely to be referred for gifted education services. In a different camp, scholars argue that minority students are culturally different, but not culturally disadvantaged or deficient e. These individuals acknowledge that culture impacts test performance, but they do not equate or associate low performance with inferiority. Beyond the ongoing debates about the source in intelligence, there are equally spirited and rigorous debates about the use of standardized tests with diverse groups, with the greatest attention to issues of test bias Armour-Thomas, ; Helms, Many test developers have gone to great length to decrease or eliminate if this is possible culturally biased or culturally-loaded test items Johnsen, Accordingly, some scholars contend that test bias no longer exists e.

In sum, there is little consensus in education and psychology about the reasons diverse students score lower on standardized tests of intelligence than do White students. Further, there is little consensus regarding the definition of intelligence, the definition of test bias, the existence of test bias, the types of test biases, the impact of test bias on diverse students, and the nature and extent of test bias in contemporary or newly re-normed tests.

With so many unanswered questions and controversies regarding intelligence, testing in general, and testing diverse students in particular, what can educators in gifted education do to ensure that these students have access to and are represented in gifted education programs and services?

There is a longstanding and persistent debate regarding the equitable use of tests and assessment strategies with diverse populations. This debate and related concerns are especially prevalent in cases of high-stakes testing, where tests are used to make important and long-term educational decisions about students.

Psychological and psychoeducational assessment is an area that has been heavily subjected to complaints about the differential treatment of diverse groups. Specifically, questions have been raised regarding whether standardized intelligence tests are biased.

Tests can be biased in terms of impact e. This concept is referred to as disparate impact Office for Civil Rights [OCR], and may not be associated with statistical biases, defined next. The Joint Standards defined statistical bias as a systematic error in a test score. In discussing test fairness, statistical bias may refer to construct under-representation or construct-irrelevant components of test scores that differentially affect the performance of different groups of test takers.

Thus, it is important to note that when tests are used for selecting and screening, the potential for denying diverse groups access to educational opportunities, such as gifted education programs, due to bias is great. The consequences of interpretation bias are grave. For instance, because many school districts rely on a single test score to place students in gifted education programs 2 , and given the lower performance of diverse groups on tests, this practice serves as an effective gate-keeping mechanism.

Interpreting test performance—high or low—based on one test or measure must be avoided due to the limited data provided from a single score. In other words:. Our basic obligation as educators is to meet the needs of students as they come to us—with their different learning styles, economic backgrounds, cultural backgrounds, and academic skills.

In Larry P. Riles , the court argued:. Culture is a way of life, a way of looking at and interpreting life, and a way of responding to life. Members of these groups have in common beliefs, attitudes, traditions, customs, and behaviors e.

Likewise, Helms asks:. The implications of these questions for educators are that, when differences in performance on intelligence tests are attributed to racial or ethnic differences, educators must recognize this explanation for the non sequitur that it is. Instead of continuing to use such measures until something better comes along, educators must challenge the scientists on whose work their test usage is based to find culturally defined psychological explanations e. The way children are chosen for these programmes means that Black and Hispanic students are often overlooked.

Some US school districts employ admissions procedures for gifted education programmes that rely on teacher observations and referrals or require a family to sign their child up for an IQ test. The universal screening of students for gifted education using IQ tests could help to identify children who otherwise would have gone unnoticed by parents and teachers. Research has found that those school districts which have implemented screening measures for all children using IQ tests have been able to identify more children from historically underrepresented groups to go into gifted education.

These could include the impacts of environmental exposure to harmful substances such as lead and arsenic or the effects of malnutrition on brain health. Identifying these issues could then help those in charge of education and social policy to seek solutions. Specific interventions could be designed to help children who have been affected by these structural inequalities or exposed to harmful substances. In the long run, the effectiveness of these interventions could be monitored by comparing IQ tests administered to the same children before and after an intervention.

Some researchers have tried doing this. This is a therapeutic process aimed at trying to help a person to self-regulate their brain function. Most commonly used with those who have some sort of identified brain imbalance, it has also been used to treat drug addiction , depression and ADHD.

The researchers used IQ tests to find out whether the training was effective in improving the concentration and executive functioning of children with ADHD — and found that it was. Since its invention, the IQ test has generated strong arguments in support of and against its use. Both sides are focused on the communities that have been negatively impacted in the past by the use of intelligence tests for eugenic purposes. The use of IQ tests in a range of settings, and the continued disagreement over their validity and even morality, highlights not only the immense value society places on intelligence — but also our desire to understand and measure it.

Read more: IQ tests: are humans getting smarter? Edition: Available editions United Kingdom. Even when there are progressive matrices used to avoid issues with language ability, the mainstream tests still require individuals to have an average knowledge of the language involved with a solid foundation of general information that they can use.

It may even lead them to a place where they feel superior to the average human, causing them to look down on others or make less effort to complete work. There are issues on the other side of the labeling spectrum as well. People who do not produce a high score on intelligence tests are often given low expectations to meet.

They can run into people who believe that their IQ is a limitation of what they can achieve as individual. This outcome can lead to a lack of self-esteem, less stimulation, and fewer efforts to make a difference. Kaufman suggests that a better predictor of success is the willingness to work than what their innate ability might be.

Psychologists and educators have come to realize that there are multiple forms of intelligence found in children and adults. People can be gifted in numerous ways, including kinetic, musical, and intrapersonal intelligence. These are just as essential to the human experience as mathematics or verbal skills. When these tests only measure one form of intelligence and this is the foundation of their entire learning process, then it can railroad an individual into a process that never develops their strengths and always criticizes their weaknesses.

Numerous studies have looked at the impact on socioeconomic circumstances and minority populations and found that poverty can play an influential role on how well a student performs. Even the quality of the schools that people attend can have a direct influence on their test scores.

These tests tend to focus on mathematical knowledge, reading concepts, and scientific principles. Most do not offer people an opportunity to present their social, vocational, or creative knowledge.

That means the tests are geared to measure one specific form of intelligence instead of the overall capabilities of each person. Anyone can succeed with ambition. Another significant disadvantage of intelligence testing is that the information and results are used inconsistently throughout society.

Some school districts and employers rely on these diagnostic tools heavily and sometimes exclusively to identify gifted traits in individuals. Others used multidimensional procedures as a way to measure the talents of each person. Kay Ireland specializes in health, fitness and lifestyle topics. She is a support worker in the neonatal intensive care and antepartum units of her local hospital and recently became a certified group fitness instructor.

Regardless of how old we are, we never stop learning. Classroom is the educational resource for people of all ages. Based on the Word Net lexical database for the English Language.

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