Our educational society places a great amount of value on the ability for one to perform well on a standardized test of intelligence. Opportunities and benefits that result from acquiring such a skill has also increased. It appears that these tests hold the probability that they could be culturally biased, therefore perpetuate that socioeconomic inequalities are present in America today. When discussing measurements of results from studies interpreting the outcome of any group of people taking standardized tests, one must consider just what these tests claim to measure. Intelligence seems to be an extremely important trait for many people, but what is intelligence? This seemingly simple trait is increasingly becoming more difficult to define when scrutinized closely. Standardized test can be biased in favor of certain cultures; the scores from such tests can be misinterpreted to justify unfounded and prejudiced beliefs. Their message seems to be that who a person currently is, will be what they will become, and in the process, rob them of many of the opportunities and benefits of the ability to change oneself for the better.
I remember in middle school I was told I couldn’t be in the Gifted and Talented program because I scored 2 points lower on the IQ test than they required. At 9 years old I already felt the sense of inadequacy because I was smart – but not smart enough. As a result, I started not caring in my regular classes because they bored me and I saw that it didn’t really matter that much. The presumption of a claim that in fifty minutes you can evaluate and categorize a human being’s predestined capability in life is an abomination. I abhor the pretentiousness of the claim and the abuse of scientific method which it involves; there is a superiority which it creates and the sense of inferiority which it imposes. I argue that IQ test are not only a problem transracially, but they are an issue in of itself. Blacks are not the only race to suffer due to a stigma they have received from taking an IQ test. What does an intelligence test really accomplish? How can this test help people in the real world? In essence it can’t. But it can destroy the minds of children who were wrongly categorized – or categorized period.
Thoughts.. agreements? Disagreements? Feedback. :]
I remember in middle school I was told I couldn’t be in the Gifted and Talented program because I scored 2 points lower on the IQ test than they required. At 9 years old I already felt the sense of inadequacy because I was smart – but not smart enough. As a result, I started not caring in my regular classes because they bored me and I saw that it didn’t really matter that much. The presumption of a claim that in fifty minutes you can evaluate and categorize a human being’s predestined capability in life is an abomination. I abhor the pretentiousness of the claim and the abuse of scientific method which it involves; there is a superiority which it creates and the sense of inferiority which it imposes. I argue that IQ test are not only a problem transracially, but they are an issue in of itself. Blacks are not the only race to suffer due to a stigma they have received from taking an IQ test. What does an intelligence test really accomplish? How can this test help people in the real world? In essence it can’t. But it can destroy the minds of children who were wrongly categorized – or categorized period.
Thoughts.. agreements? Disagreements? Feedback. :]
