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IQ test Reliability
Every minute humans are constantly putting labels on others. These labels can be
athletic, fat, short, smart, or a lot of times stupid. Being intelligent is what most every one would
like to be seen as, but in reality this is not possible. Not everybody is smart, say some people.
Then arose intelligence testing in order to test this theory around the late 1800s early 1900s. For
many years it was concluded that Intelligence and Intelligence Quotient tests were a reliable
gauge of mental ability and it separated the intellectual elite from the injudicious. Scholars began
to contemplate and study whether IQ tests were truly reliable or not. It was not until recent years
that a number of researchers, psychologists, and many others finalized their decision. For many
reasons they over turned the original thought that IQ tests actually test intelligence. IQ tests only
test a small part of our intelligence called cognitive ability, which basically deals with how well
people deal with manipulating symbols. Thus only testing cognitive ability leaves out so many
other sectors of our intelligence like creativity and social intelligence. Also IQ tests are said to
adapt to all cultures but this is not true. In the last 50 years IQ has increased drastically to
represent true intelligence. There are countless reasons why people are trying to abandon IQ test.
IQ test and other measures of intelligence are said to not be a reliable gauge of mental ability
because it only measures cognitive ability, cannot account for creativity, social skills, is
structured for a specific language and culture and cannot explain the drastic rise of IQ in the last
50 years.
Unlike tacit knowledge which is practical sense or common knowledge, IQ tests deal
with cognitive ability which is based on how well people can manipulate symbols. Tactic
knowledge is a major sector of our intelligence that IQ tests do not measure. If intelligence tests

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cannot even measure a major part of our intelligence, then they should have practically no
validity. Looking back on cognitive ability, Robert Sternberg from the book Genetics and
Intelligence gave an example of a study of housewives who did poorly on calculations. These
calculations are similar to what would be on an IQ test. Robert illustrates that there is a specific
kinds of intelligence that is important for conventional tests. IQ tests are said to deal with Level
two intelligence or simply just what psychologist call cognitive ability. He is trying to stretch the
point that it is not that these women are stupid that they did poorly on the test but they may lack
lack cognitive ability. Although cognitive ability is only a small part of our intelligence, lacking
it may lead to failing an IQ test. Modern Psychologist have proved that since IQ only accounts
for cognitive ability and not other main parts of human intelligence that its validity is terrible. In
a meeting, a group of four dedicated individuals are talking about how schools have used IQ for
intelligence measures for many years to put an academic label on kids but is that label correct. It
is not always correct. They said that Scott Barry Kaufman had a Ph.D. from Yale, but in
elementary school he still was labeled seriously learning disabled according to IQ test.
IQ also does not test creativity. According to William Allman, IQ tests cannot measure
everything. What it does not account for is what we call either creativity or insight. Believe it or
not creativity is one the most useful forms of intelligence the mind has and IQ does not account
for it. Robert Sternberg makes the point that creativity is just as important as IQ if not more.
Intelligent quotient test only measures a small part of our skills says William Allman. It ignores
sometimes the genius side of someone which may be creativity. For example, some artists like
Pablo Picasso may not have a great IQ but are still geniuses in creativity. In an experiment
students were asked to come up with stories about a dream before they reviewed information on
dreaming. One group of students engaged in a creative exercise by coming up with stories about

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their own dreams before the lesson and then studied, while another group did rote copying of the
data before the lesson. Test results immediately following the lesson showed no differences in
comprehension on a test they took but weeks later after taking another test it showed that those
who did the creative activity by coming up with stories about dreams remembered more over
time. Psychologists have also performed many other tests to prove that creativity is a great part
of our intelligence, therefore, they say since creativity isnt measured in IQ tests it is not a
reliable gauge of mental ability.
The article Why IQ isnt destiny provides a couple different intelligences that arent
included in measuring IQ, such as social intelligence. Social intelligence is one of which humans
use everyday of their lives. Social intelligence is said to be the capacity to efficiently navigate
and negotiate complex social relationships and environments. Social skills are yet another form
of intelligence that IQ once again does not measure. It has been present to the human brain
dating back to times like stone age. It ignores intelligence and wisdom inherited from long ago.
Through a chain of studies, Psychologist Leda Cosmides and others demonstrated how most
people can solve a problem more easily surrounded by social terms as opposed to using numbers
and symbols. In yet another experiment they tested people who used social skills opposed to
numbers and symbols. The subjects of this experiment were given a Logic Puzzle involving
different scenarios. Less than 25% of the subjects solved it correctly when using numbers and
symbols. On the other hand, 75% of people solved it correctly when the problem was put into
social terms. For Example, when kids are in kindergarten they may not have understood 3 + 2 at
first. It was only when the teacher says if Shaniqua had two Apples and Jamal had 3 apples,
how many did they both have?, then they truly understood the concept. It helps people better

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understand a problem if one can cast it in social terms to help the learner comprehend. Therefore,
since IQ tests cannot test social intelligence, it is not a reliable gauge of mental ability.
Begley Sharon, in the article IQ The Puzzle talks about how IQ in the last 100 years
has increased drastically. America increased its average IQ by 24 points since 1918. During
World War I almost half of Americans had IQ below 76, which is lower than an IQ to know the
basic rules of baseball He says that these increases are too great to be measuring true
intelligence. This contradicts the claim of many who think that IQ is a reliable gauge of
intelligence or mental ability. Some may ask, How did the IQ rise so drastically? We still dont
know. A professional studying the topic collected things like mazes and puzzles from fast food
restaurants to get exposed to what kids are practicing. Our culture is covered with mazes and
puzzles, ready for kids to practice. He noticed that all these worksheets are primarily the same.
They also put these types of setups on IQ tests. Since kids practice these setups, they already are
use to the material on the test. He then explains how the IQ rise could be because of kids
practicing not because of their actual intelligence. This proves IQ tests to be inaccurate because it
is not measuring their real intelligence. They only do well because they have done it hundreds of
times. After most of these studies they all point back to IQ tests and it not being reliable.
The last reason that to present why IQ and other measures of intelligence are not reliable
is because of the language and culture surrounding it. IQ is supposedly said to adapt to different
language and cultures but in reality they know very little about cultural differences. The first so
called reliable test of intelligence was developed by French psychologist Alfred Binet named the
Binet Simon intelligence test and it was surrounded by French language and culture. Even if the
French translated it to English or any other language needed, the results would still not be as
accurate to that of which if they created it themselves. In each culture their so many idioms,

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slangs and references specifically made to that culture, that if any other culture were to hear it, it
would not make sense. For example, even if people translated It was a piece of cake to a
Chinese person it still would make absolutely no sense. Having said that, if it were to be written
by any other culture, the results may differ. One of the problems with the whole IQ concept is
that often African American and Latino children are automatically labeled as inferior to others
like whites, but is that even true and is that label a reliable gauge of mental ability. A man
developed an intelligence test of 100 vocabulary words from the Dictionary of African American
slang. It was, of course directed towards the African American race. 100 black and white people
took the test. The blacks average 36 point higher than the whites. This is another well known
example of how the barrier between language and culture can create a difference when testing.
However, many test makers claim that they have made tests that adapt to all cultures but
in reality they are narrow minded and they know very little about cultural differences. IQ tests
are said to measure target information, which is intelligence, but on a typical IQ test the results
people derive from it and target information are far apart. Although some mental testers are
satisfied in saying that intelligence is what IQ tests measure, others do not agree, therefore they
claim it should be abandoned.
It was not only a few decades ago that IQ test sought to be abandoned. The idea of
abandoning IQ tests started not too long ago when people had a hint of why IQ test arent valid.
Psychologist and many researchers discovered that since 1918, America has increased its overall
average by 24 points. Then many of them concluded that this drastic rise in IQ is too great to
represent true intelligence. After thorough studies they also found that IQ tests do not account for
mental abilities such as creativity and social intelligence. Since it neglects so many sectors of our
intelligence, it cannot be called an intelligence test. William Allman illustrates this as he quotes

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in his paper, Why IQ isnt Destiny, your IQ doesnt determine your success. There are a
handful of brilliant people that have succeeded in life but dont have a very high IQ. There are so
many different forms of intelligence that IQ tests dont measure, therefore the validity of the IQ
test are low. In concluding, IQ test are not a reliable gage of mental ability because it only
accounts for what we call cognitive ability, neglects social intelligence and creativity, cannot
explain the drastic rise in IQ and does not adapt well to different cultures.

Work Cited

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Allman, William F. "Why IQ Isn't Destiny." U.S. News & World Report 117.16 (1994): 73.
Middle Search Plus. Web. 17 Nov. 2015.
Begley, Sharon. "The IQ Puzzle." Newsweek 127.19 (1996): 70. Middle Search Plus. Web. 11 Nov.
2015.
"Is It Time To Get Rid Of IQ Tests In Schools?." Tell Me More (NPR) (2013): Newspaper Source.
Web. 16 Nov. 2015.
Phoebe, Luckhurst. "Who cares about IQ? All you need now is a test of your IE that's inner
entrepreneur." Evening Standard 07 July 2014: 38. Newspaper Source. Web. 10 Nov. 201
Roleff, Tamara L. Genetics and Intelligence. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven, 1996. Print.
Ziegler, Albert, and Heidrun Stoeger. "Shortcomings Of The IQ-Based Construct Of
Underachievement." Roeper Review 34.2 (2012): 123. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 9 Nov.
2015.