Topic > History and Controversies of Intelligence Tests

Intelligence tests were first introduced in the early 20th century after the French government passed a law requiring all children to attend school. The French government was concerned about how children's ability to learn might be affected by the prejudices of their teachers. In 1904, Alfred Binet was authorized by the French government to study this situation and find a potential solution. Binet and his colleague Theodore Simon began to theorize questions that would assess a child's learning success. These questions were based on cognitive skills such as attention, memory and problem solving. Through these questions, Binet and Simon developed a theory that all children follow the same course of intellectual development, but some develop more rapidly than others. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay A few years later, Stanford professor Lewis Terman discovered that the questionnaire used by the French to determine the learning success of their students was almost incompatible with students in California. In response, Terman created his own intelligence test known as the Stanford-Binet. The Stanford Binet assessed the intelligence of all ages, overriding the Binet test which tested only the youngest children. Intelligence tests were first introduced by Terman in the United States during World War I. The tests were introduced with the aim of evaluating the mass amount of immigrants arriving in the United States and evaluating World War I army recruits. Tests used in World War I helped determine specific positions for men in the military. There are many limitations to intelligence tests. Better candidates score better on IQ tests than mediocre candidates. For this reason, it can be difficult to accurately know a person's IQ. IQ tests do not test every type of intelligence. They focus only on logic and memory. So, even though a person may logically have a low IQ, this does not mean that they do not excel in the arts or other forms of intelligence. One of the main disadvantages of intelligence tests is that the tests give only a single numerical score to define intelligence. A person's intelligence cannot be simply defined by a number, as there are a myriad of things that make up their intelligence. That number can inhibit a person's motivation, as they may think they will never do better than the score they are labeled with. People who score higher on IQ tests will not necessarily have a more successful future than those who score lower on the test. While people who score high may have the motivation and skills needed to succeed, the same is true for people with lower scores. Finally, due to IQ tests having a very Western view and focus on intelligence, people from countries like Africa and Asia, where intelligence is viewed differently, tend to perform lower compared to their white American counterparts. Intelligence is emphasized differently in different countries, which makes creating an unbiased test difficult. However, scientists continue to familiarize themselves with more cultures, raising hopes of an unbiased test. Although intelligence tests have many disadvantages, there are also advantages. Intelligence tests can be helpful in predicting what type of school environment a child would be inBetter. A child who scores poorly on an intelligence test might be placed in a class more suited to his or her learning style, while a child who scores high might be placed in an accelerated learning program. While smart tests are not entirely accurate, they provide a general outline of a child's academic success and mental strength. Intelligence tests are a non-complex way of providing cultural and biological similarities and differences between people. Finally, intelligence tests are a simple way to assess intelligence compared to rigorous tests. David Weschler was a Roman psychologist whose work was first used in the 20th century. Weschler became interested in intelligence after his military experience led him to the conclusion that academically defined "intelligence" was in no way applicable to "real life" situations. In 1938, Weschler developed the Weschler-Bellevue Intelligence Scale, initially intended to measure the intelligence of an adult. Rejecting the idea that there was a specific age at which intelligence should be measured, Weschler supported the definition that “intelligence is a personal aggregate or global capacity of the individual to act purposefully, to think rationally and to deal effectively with its environment." (Weschler, 1940). Soon after the Weschler-Bellevue Intelligence Scale became the most popular intelligence test in the United States, Weschler published the Weschler Intelligence Scale for Children in 1949. This test was aimed at children between the ages of six and sixteen and was divided into 4 categories: verbal comprehension, perceptual reasoning, working memory and processing speed. His last intelligence test for adults was published in 1955, the Weschler Adult Intelligence Scale. The Weschler Adult Intelligence Scale had the same structure as the Weschler-Bellevue Intelligence Scale but included 10 non-White population groups to attempt to include all races. Weschler's last intelligence test, published in 1967, was the Weschler Primary and Preschool Intelligence Scale. This test was an intelligence test for very young children. David Weschler left a lasting impression on the world after his initial creation of the Weschler-Bellevue Intelligence Scale. His innovations opened doors for everyone and made it easier for many people to receive an education best suited to them. Content validity is “when the test items represent the full range of possible items that the test should cover” (Cherry) . A tester may use content validity when he or she is concerned about how behavior may affect test results. Predictive validity is how successfully a test predicts the behavior it is designed to predict. It is assessed by establishing the correlation between test scores and criterion behavior. Validity is important when taking an intelligence test because without it the results are not very accurate. Christopher Langan was born in 1952 in San Fransico, California, to a widowed mother. After Langan's birth, he and his mother spent time moving around Montana, often being one of the poorest families in town. At school, Langan's intelligence was not known, as he spent much of his time sleeping in class claiming that he "had become increasingly resistant and insensitive to the Pavlovian conditioning on which much educational methodology is based" (Langan). Applying to colleges in the 10th grade proved to be quite challenging for Langan, as colleges wanted him to pursue a certain major instead of choosing his own. The adversities Langan faced led him to believe that he was not