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Paper Abstract: History, test characteristics, criticisms, debate over racial differences. Paper Introduction: Overview One of the most puzzling topics that man has tried to deal with relates to intelligence. Few scientific inquiries have aroused as much controversy as the question of intelligence testing. At the center of the debate is the nature-nurture question. It deals with the degree to which individual differences in intelligence are attributable to hereditary and congenital factors ("nature") on the one hand, or to environmental factors ("nurture"), on the other hand (Fancher, 1985, p. 8). While scientists feel that both factors are important, they are unable to agree on the extent and importance of each. The second area of controversy deals with the definition of "intelligence". The problem deals with the actual explanation of Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. Test Characteristics Intelligence tests are psychometric and are standardized measures ofpsychological qualities. Less intelligent peoplewere to be discouraged from having children. The current test contains six items for eachmental test at each age level. Ternam adapted the test forAmerican children and culture. New York: W.W. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan.Block, N.J., & G. (1972). The interpretation of this resultis open. These adults weregiven a series of test, including Stanford-Binet, Woodcock-Johnson andMcCarthy to see if any of the instruments predicted the program placementsituations of the subjects. Courts have decided that IQ tests are relativelyineffective in evaluating the learning potential of retarded children.Certain groups of tests have been banned by a number of public schoolsystems (Sharp, 1972, p. Intelligence testing of Hispanics with the Wechsler scales wasconducted by Marcel Ponton (1989) at the Fuller Seminary. Pasadena, CA: Fuller Theological Seminary.Sharp, E. McCarthy scales and inhibition of movement tests for selecting severely mentally impaired adults for placement in a sheltered workshop. However proponents of the test indicate that they havehigh concurrent and predictive validity. (1985). Over the years, the test has been modified to reflectgenerational differences. However, there is considerable disagreementregarding the usefulness of the tests, what they measure and whether theymeasure the same thing for all groups of subjects. His researchindicated that these skills were not independent. The studyrecommended that one universal test be developed so that it would be easierto make program placement recommendations for the mentally impairedindividuals based on test performance instead of a global IQ. Alfred Binet is the father of intelligence testing. It suggested further research onthe causes of these confirmed effect sizes and exploring other measures ofintelligence as well. It deals with the degree to whichindividual differences in intelligence are attributable to hereditary andcongenital factors ("nature") on the one hand, or to environmental factors("nurture"), on the other hand (Fancher, 1985, p. He happened to consider "normal" those abilities which were commonbetween 65 and 75% of children at a certain age (Sharp, 1972, p. 233). The debate surrounding racial differences in IQ testing has added tothe controversy. 17). Most of thesubjects entered school with the academic achievement levels of childrenseveral years their senior. As aresult, he automatically excluded 25% of children. Mental age was arrived at bycomparing a child's individual performance with those of average levels ofperformance by children of other ages. New norms were developed and the test wasgiven to 1, children and 4 adults. He found a range of correlations from +.43 to +.94 with amedian correlation of +.8 . Critics of the testbelieve that it is not possible to measure a concept that is vaguelydescribed at best. 45). WilliamShockley jumped upon Jenson's work and used it to support his views whichproclaimed the inferiority of black Americans. Results indicated that those attendingworkshop programs did better than the day treatment group. These includetests of character and personality, vocational tests, IQ tests, math testsEnglish and reading tests, social studies and history tests, science testsas well as fine arts, foreign language, music and inventory tests (Fine,1989, p. He also looked at predictive validity tomeasure the usefulness of the tests as indicators of scholastic ability.He found correlations of +.6 to +.7 in elementary school and +.4 to +.5 incollege. From the beginning, Binet realized thelimitations of his program. The area ofproducts dealt with units, classes, relations, systems, transformations andimplications. (1976). At the center of thedebate is the nature-nurture question. Another factor to consider is the test validity. His objective was to develop ameans of identifying gifted people so that these intelligent people couldmarry each other and produce intelligent children. A study was conducted by James Drake (1988) at AuburnUniversity, to determine whether IQ scores, combined with the variables ofage and gender could be used to predict performance on a set of trait testscores in evaluation. His contention is that the tests donot measure creativity or incremental growth from year to year. (1988). Criticisms of Intelligence Tests Intelligence tests have been used in education, industry, law and themilitary. From theseexperiments, Binet and Simon developed the concept of mental age todescribe an individual's test performance. 8). ReferencesBecker, M. The area of operations included cognition, memory,divergent production, convergent production and evaluation. Montgomery, AL: Auburn University.Fancher, R. Thestudy found that the identified variables could be used to make predictionsabout performance on vocational trait testing. N.p.: Coward, McCann and Geoghegan.----------------------- 1 Tests are standardized to represent theentire population that is given the tests. While the United States uses the tests the most, these testsare used all over the world. In 1969, Kennedy found that black Americans usually scorelower on the tests than white Americans. Intelligence testing of hispanics with the Wechsler- scales: A meta-analysis. However, they are not universally accepted. Few scientific inquiries have aroused as muchcontroversy as the question of intelligence testing. Some critics argue that the tests are biased in favor of WASPindividuals and are biased against poor, ghetto or rural individuals.Because of disadvantages in nutrition, prenatal care and otherenvironmental factors such as educational and economic opportunities, thesegroups score lower. Other theorists have looked at separate abilities. Standard factors include theeffect of age, education, science, television and other differences. These testsinclude the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Tests, Wechsler Intelligence Scalefor Children and the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence.Children's tests have twelve tasks that are used to assess intelligence.The verbal scale looks at general information, general comprehension,arithmetic, similar- ities, vocabulary and digit span. Marianne Becker (1988) conducted a study at the University ofMichigan with community-based mentally impaired adults. Others, led by Jenson, argue that the tests are notbiased against minorities and reflect high heritability factors (Fancher,1985, p. Walter Lippman criticized the Terman tests on the grounds that thescoring of the tests favors a misguided belief that intelligence is a fixedquantity (Block & Dworkin, 1976, p. W. In 1938, L.L.Thurston identified seven primary mental abilities which included verbalcomprehension, word fluency, number calculation, spatial reasoning,associative memory, perceptual speed and general reasoning. Recent legislation has mandated the implementation of vocationalevaluation programs for special needs students in the public schoolsnationwide. In 1927, Charles Spearmandeveloped a theory to identify the components of intelligence. This test became know as theStanford-Binet test. This studylooked at the relevancy of the test in relation to the different featuresof cognitive functioning. Education tests and measurements. He believed that the IQ score is only an indexof a child's learning rate compared to other children's learning rates.Binet concluded that the standard of a normal child at a certain age wassomething that an arbitrary amount of children at that age should be ableto do. Wilhelm Stern, elaborated on thisidea and came up with an intelligence quotient, or IQ score. The problem deals with the actual explanation ofintelligence. The difference in ethnic groups on the verbaland performance scales was significant. 85). (1989). Binetalso believed that "intelligence" itself was liable to substantial changewithin an individual. 193). New York: Pantheon Books.Drake, J. In 198 , Jenson did a concurrent validity review of forty sevendifferent tests. Unfortunately, the school system was unable tostimulate their interest and as a result, the subjects performed belowtheir tested achievement level. Thus from the beginning, theearly tests combined scientific hypotheses with goals for socialengineering. Dworkin. Intelligence is not a separate entity. While scientistsfeel that both factors are important, they are unable to agree on theextent and importance of each. Overview One of the most puzzling topics that man has tried to deal withrelates to intelligence. Numerous tests have been developed which have tried to applya standard quantative measure regarding the ability of the subjects.Intelligence tests tend to fall into major classifications. He believed that it is impossibleto rule out the effects of environment on performance. However because research isso limited, this information should be used in designing individualassessment plans, while continuing to use other models. The second area of controversy deals with the definition of"intelligence". Boththe Stanford Binet and Wechsler tests are have a standard deviation of 15.This means that less then 2 1/2% of the population scores below 7 or above13 . As a result, intelligence testing has beenlooked at in new ways. (1989). In 1966, J.P. Instead, it is aconcept that is comprised of many factors. Many criticsbelieve the tests are misused tools that can be used for abusive racism andcontroversial social policies. Children of exceptional intellectual potential: Their origin and development. 5). Lippman is alsocritical of the fact that intelligence measure a person's performance inrelation to the average at any year. This has been interpreted as genetic superiority. Modern intelligence tests were introduced in America in 1916 by LouisTernam and associates at Stanford University. The stranglehold of the IQ. A techniqueknown as factor analysis tried to identify highly correlated clusters ofabilities. Lafayette, IN: Purdue University.Ponton, M. It is hoped that the tests can be revised toreflect measurement tools that are free of cultural bias and look at whatstage a person is in his own mental development (Fine, 1989, p. A third popular test was developed by David Wechsler. This study reinforced the fact that giftedchildren require an educational program significantly differentiated frommoderately or non-gifted children. Norton.Fine, B. Current Studies and New Directions for Intelligence Testing The controversy surrounding intelligence testing has led to thelimitations of its use. During this time, in 19 4, theFrench Ministry of Education wanted to identify slow learners who neededhelp and turned to Binet. Manyintelligence tests have a correlation coefficient statistic of +.9 orhigher. Guilfordproposed that intelligence is comprised of over 12 factors which brokedown into three areas. Binet, along with his partner Theopile Simon,devised a series of puzzles and tasks for children to solve. History of Intelligence Tests Sir Francis Galton was an early pioneer in intelligence testing.During the late 19th century he developed a series of psychophysical teststhought to identify intelligent people. This project studied the intellectual, academic,social and emotional development of 31 Australian children, aged 5-13years, who scored 16 or above on the Sanford-Binet test. (1989). The IQ controversy. The final area of contents dealt with figural, symbolic,semantic and behavioral. He becameinterested in testing intelligence when he noticed his two daughtersdeveloped motor skills in different ways. On top of the confusion as to what defines intelligence, the thirdarea of controversy deals with the added difficulty of the measuring ofintelligence. The IQ cult. They are designed to measure relative performancenot absolute mental abilities. A longitudinal study was conducted by Miraca Gross (1989) of PurdueUniversity, to look at the development of children with exceptionalintellectual potential. (1988). As previouslymentioned, there is much debate around this issue. Tests ranges are as follows: Mental Classification Score Retarded Profound Less then 25 Severe 25 - 45 Moderate 45 - 6 Mild 6 - 7 Borderline 75 - 85 Dull 85 Average 9 - 115 Bright 115 -125 Superior 125 - 13 Gifted 13 and above An important aspect of the tests are their reliability. The intelligence men, makers of the IQ controversy. Garden City, NY: Doubleday.Gross, M. The performancescale has tasks such as picture completion, picture arrangement, blockdesign, object assembly coding and mazes. He realized that therewere sources of unreliability and error in the tests themselves. The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised and the System for Assessment and Group Evaluation were used. 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