| Term Paper Title | Validity Of Intelligence Tests |
| # of Words | 1070 |
| # of Pages (250 words per page double spaced) | 4.28 |
Validity of Intelligence Tests
Intelligence tests have been a resource for measuring the intellect of our society for many years. These tests have been changed quite a few times, and only a small number of them are still used. Unfortunately, the validity of the test may be prejudiced against sex, ethnic groups and age. The purpose of intelligence testing is to find more about how people learn. Once this is accomplished then people can be taught more efficiently. This research will compare how tests have been biased, and it will discuss the other tests that measure intelligence. My thesis is,
"How are IQ tests affected by age, sex, ethnic background, and what other testing methods measure intelligence better than the standard intelligence test?"
Tests that measure the intelligence have been around for about eighty years. Although many people only know of one, there are many different tests. The first type of test is called an individual test (D. Shultz & S. Shultz, 156). In an individual test, one person takes the test, and a person who is qualified, such as a psychologist, administers the test. (D. Shultz & S. Shultz, 156). The two most widely used individual tests are the Stanford-Binet and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale. The next type of test is a group test. In a group test, one person, who does not need to be qualified, administers a test to more than one person (D. Shultz & S. Shultz, 157). Group tests are not very common at this time because they are not as precise as individual tests, but the US Army used group tests to help assign people to certain ranks (D. Shultz & S. Shultz, 161). Obviously, the individual tests are more accurate than group tests because they are focused on one person instead of a group of people. There has been no report of racism, sexism, or ageism in either group or individual tests.
The main type of intelligence test is called the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Test (S. Fraser, 438). The Stanford-Binet Intelligence Test is an individual test. Alfred Binet, who gave the test its name, created it. Lewis Terman, who also revised it, then translated the test to English (S. Glazer, 151). A few years later, William Stern came across the test. He thought of a way to turn the test results into a percentage, which he called the Intelligence Quotient, or IQ. The Intelligence Quotient was a ratio of Mental Age to Chronological Age. Then that number was multiplied by 100 to turn it into a percentage. Mental Age is the score corresponding to the average number of items passed by a given age group, corresponding to the chronological age of that group. Chronological Age is the actual age of a person (S. Glazer, 166).
The average score on an IQ test is 100, which is when mental age is equal to Chronological Age. There is a wide range of scores. Some are lower than average and some are above average. The test can help to decide what educational needs different people require. If someone has a score that is over 100 they are either called exceptional individuals or gifted (L. Benjamin, 458). The test can place these people in more difficult cla...Read entire document
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