By the end of the 19th century in Europe, France issued some laws related to education and improving its quality. One of the most important ideas they believed would help the educational process was dividing students into classes according to their ability to grasp lessons. At that time, psychologists suggested designing intelligence tests to place each equal group in a separate class, which led us to IQ tests. But do these intelligence tests really measure intelligence levels? And is this measurement process fair or just nonsense?
2- What is intelligence?
Before we know whether IQ tests are really a successful idea and achieving their intended purpose or not, we must first understand what intelligence means. According to the prevailing view at the time, intelligence had a simple definition: the ability to learn new things and adapt to situations (Piaget,1950). The definition might have been slightly broader, including the ability to use logic and solve mathematical problems. However, with the advancement of scientific research, it became clear that this definition of intelligence is extremely inadequate and completely overlooks the subject.
Theories later emerged that divided intelligence into many types, and the problem researchers always faced was that they disagreed among themselves about the different types of intelligence. Some believed there were three types of intelligence, others believed there were seven, and others believed there were eight, and so on. In short, the researchers themselves were not sure about the classifications of intelligence, let alone agree on a unified definition of intelligence as a whole. This problem alone is enough to answer the question of whether intelligence tests are objective or not, especially when the researchers themselves cannot agree on a definition. For intelligence, how do you think it will be determined that this person is smarter than others?
3- The emergence of IQ Tests
The discussion we had about the subjectivity of IQ tests is not based on mere theoretical opinions or ideas. What encouraged researchers to think more broadly about the topic of intelligence and the tests that were conducted were the surprises that actually began to occur and confirmed the flaws in the tests that were relied upon. For example, initially, a sample of about 1500 students who showed brilliance in performance during these exams was collected, and these students were evaluated and monitored throughout their studies. Here, the first surprises appeared: the 1500 students who were expected to be… (Terman,1925).
They achieved amazing successes, but they didn’t do anything that would be surprising or indicate that they are geniuses. On the contrary, some of those who were excluded as a result of these exams proved to be geniuses despite their low scores. For example, the excluded students Louis Alvarez and William Shockley became renowned physicists and even won a Nobel Prize. On the other hand, you have journalist Marilyn Vos Savant, one of the most famous examples that IQ test results do not necessarily indicate intelligence levels. Marilyn is known as the smartest person on Earth according to IQ test scores. When she was young, she had 10 years at the time of the test, she scored 228, an amazing score by all standards. According to the test, a person who scores 150 or above is considered a genius; for example, Einstein scored 160. That’s why the score Marilyn achieved was enough to secure her a place in the Guinness World Records as the smartest woman in the world. Of course, it was expected that Marlene would achieve great things in the future, but it later became clear that Marilyn’s academic life was very ordinary, with no signs of brilliance. After Marilyn completed her philosophy studies and graduated, she kept moving from one company to another until. In the end, she settled in a modest place owned by her father, and the best work she did was journalism in a number of local newspapers by writing a small column, nothing more. Even that column relied primarily on her being already famous among people after the news of her amazing grades spread. So, all she did was answer questions from the public and respond to them in a column titled “Ask Marilyn.” After it was scientifically proven that IQ tests are neither objective nor fair, the logical question that comes to anyone’s mind now is: why do we still use these tests?
The sole purpose of tests is to determine the level of intelligence, so the question is certainly valid. However, if we go back to the original reason for the invention of these tests, we find that they are not without benefit. The main reason announced, as we mentioned at the beginning of the report, was to measure students’ comprehension abilities. At that time, the test aimed to establish an appropriate educational strategy for students based on their basic knowledge of mathematical principles and memory strength. Such a definition allows us to look at the test from a completely different perspective, distinguishing between who is a smart student and who is not. Therefore, the test still has its benefits. True, it doesn’t determine who is the smartest, but it does indicate, at least relatively, who is willing to learn. It also provides a reference for those responsible for setting educational curricula to create a suitable program for the applicants. Just because the method isn’t precise doesn’t mean we should completely disregard it.
It would be better to get the best employee without an interview at all and choose by lottery. Moreover, sciences are cumulative, meaning we start with the basics and then develop from there. And that’s exactly what happened with IQ tests over time. The tests have undergone many developments, and now almost every prestigious college or institute has its own specific test, known as the aptitude test. These tests are much more precise than general tests because they are specialized in a specific field.But in the end, everyone has come to understand that being the most competent or the smartest doesn’t necessarily depend on numbers. Competence and intelligence can be determined by many factors. For example, psychological factors, which are among the most important factors that can affect anything, not just the IQ test (Bandura,1977). It is very likely that on the day of the test, this intelligent person is not psychologically prepared, their mind is distracted, upset, or annoyed. Anything that distracts the mind greatly affects intelligence. Anything, without exception, no matter how small, like not sleeping well, having an argument on the way to the exam, or being upset about something at home for any reason. All these things can completely change the result to the extent that researchers such as Zeidner (1998) says that studies on test anxiety and environmental stressors have shown that seemingly minor disruptions or changes in routine can reduce performance. Even the paper and pen used for the exam can affect the result. Of the annoying type of paper or the pen’s ink is a bit heavier than what you’re used to, it makes one feel uncomfortable in a way that reduces their focus. Also, one of the most important factors affecting exams is environmental factors. The environment around you, from family and health factors to the weather itself, can affect the fairness of the evaluation. Let’s take the weather as an example: many people can’t perform well in extreme hot environment, and others can’t perform well in extreme cold. Besides, family factors, which are the most important, also play a role, especially for children of educated parents.
Their chances of achieving higher grades are greater than others. A small child who has been exposed to stories, books, puzzles, and other educational materials since birth has the opportunity to accumulate a larger amount of information, and their brain functions better. This continues into the youth stage. It is natural for someone who is used to reading from a young age to continue reading as an adult. Not only do they continue reading, but it also becomes very easy for them to improve their level. Here, we are not saying that this applies to 100% of people; every rule has exceptions.
4- Motivation
Another of the most surprising factors discovered by researchers is motivation. It’s anything that motivates a person to be much more creative than most people. Just hearing that there is a test to determine IQ makes you want to try it out of curiosity, like anyone reading this report now. Half of you might actually start looking for an IQ test to know your intelligence level, just out of curiosity, nothing more. In this case, the motivation isn’t that high, meaning if there are one, two, or three annoying questions, you might ignore them and move on. But if you took the same person and gave them this test and told them, “This test will determine which college you will enter” in this case, they wouldn’t leave any. No matter how annoying the question is, he will try once, twice, ten times, and squeeze his brain until he is sure it’s useless. That’s why we can say in the end that the number written on the IQ is not everything.
