Volume 26, Issue 2 (1997)
Educational and Policy Issues Related to the Use and Interpretation of Intelligence Tests in the Schools
John H. Kranzler
Abstract: This article addresses educational and policy issues related to the use and interpretation of intelligence (“IQ”) tests in the schools. Contemporary research on the structure of human cognitive abilities and the origins of individual differences in IQ is briefly summarized. Research in these substantive areas has shown that (a) “intelligence” is multidimensional and cannot be completely reflected in any single test score; (b) individual differences in IQ are influenced by both genetic and environmental effects; and (c) the malleability of IQ is apparently quite limited. Implications of these findings for educational and social policy are broadly considered. Following this, several important issues related to the practical application of IQ tests in the schools are discussed. These issues concern the (a) implications of two sources of IQ score instability and (b) assessment of children and youth from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
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