What Are the Positive & Negatives of IQ Testing?

IQ testing has a mixed reputation. Some consider it a test slanted in favor of specific cultural factors. It can be an accurate indication of an individual's intelligence. Depending on the situation, this may be a case where both views are correct. Positive or negative results depend on how the results are used.

  1. The Test

    • An IQ test is the view of how a person understands the world during a brief instant in time. People change and children develop in spurts. There are several versions of the IQ test. The two most common in current use are the Stanford-Binet and Wechsler WISC III. The tests cover verbal skills, math, abstract reasoning, and memory. The tests are age specific. Some of the drawbacks with IQ tests are their administration. They require the proper amount of time when the recipient is not hungry, fatigued, or distracted to produce the optimum results. How seriously the subject applies himself is a big factor in the results.

    Positives

    • The IQ test can identify students with special needs. These gifted children may be more productive in accelerated programs. Accelerated programs keep them from becoming bored and challenge them to strive to do better. There are also the students who are not doing well because they find it difficult to understand the material. With the problem identified, the object is to develop a program to allow the student to address the reason he doesn't understand the subject. It is a comparative tool, and best evaluated in that manner. The IQ test used in conjunction with other physiological evaluations will help arrive at a complete estimate. Children change, so tests taken at different times will yield different results. One IQ test isn't an absolute, and should be viewed in that light.

    Negatives

    • At best, IQ tests generate results to assess intelligence in a given culture. This causes some people to feel the tests are negative because those of another culture will score below average. Some of the drawbacks with IQ tests are their administration. They require the proper amount of time when the recipient is not hungry, fatigued, or distracted to produce the optimum results. The person who evaluates the results should have proper training. Without this training, the evaluator may interpret the results improperly. While someone who scores well on the test can feel good about herself, someone who scores below average may not. The low scorer may give up with the feeling the test is absolute and there is nothing to do about improving his situation. The low scorer might be considered unteachable, and not receive the benefits higher scorers do.

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