Iq Testing Essay, Research Paper

“The score on an intelligence test does predict one s ability to handle school subjects, though it foretells little of success later in life.”(Gardner) Intelligence by definition is the capacity to understand and apply knowledge. Honestly, how can that be tested? What happens if the test taker is sick or he/she is answering the questions stupidly for some odd reason? There is too much esteem behind this test; it should have no bearing other than a predicting tool. Not the scale that one must measure up to be considered intelligent.

Gardner s statement says that the test can predict how one can handle certain situations. Is sitting down with a professor of some sort for an hour answering questions going to determine how well you can handle yourself? I don t think so. The only real way these handling skills can be tested is by grading the test takers experience. The test can not predict how a person will act in a street fight or in a car accident when their life is on the line; However, if the professor were to look at the takers life history and read that the man has survived ten car accidents went to college for eight years and is blind, maybe then may he judge how capable this guy is of learning.

An important part of “testing” is how the test taker feels. If they are very sick or too confident it will affect their IQ. From personal experience I have learned that the most intelligent people are not the smartest. Two friends of mine Larry and Tony went to high school with me. Larry did his homework the majority of the time and showed up for school; he was considered a good student. Tony, on the other hand, skipped school all the time and never did homework; However, the faculty was amazed at the bare wit Tony possessed. June 9th, 1998, graduation day has finally come. Larry s name is called and it is announced that this good student has received a full scholarship to the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Tony s name was never announced, the brightest light in the box was never turned on. This proves that the test cannot determine whether or not one will succeed in life.

The Intelligence Quotient may be far from perfect, but it is the only thing we have. The main things I disagree with are the facts that it is based on whether or not the test taker is concentrating and the score is at the discretion of another human being. What gives someone the power to tell another person if they are intelligent or not. The only thing it does in my opinion is determine whether or not the person is alive and has a minor bearing on reality. I believe that the person with the highest IQ is dead or on their way there. Based on what I know, the smartest mind in all history was not discovered.