The Ethics Of Measuring Intelligence

Many individuals of all backgrounds and demographics show promising intellect. When it comes to quantifying it, however, socioeconomic status is certainly a contributing factor into how it is perceived. While wealth or lack thereof does not necessarily establish one’s intelligence, it has been proven that it can have a significant impact on student performance on certain IQ and standardized testing (Plomin, Stumm). For centuries, a vicious cycle of poverty has swept up members of the lower classes. Regardless of talent or intelligence, it has become harder and harder to break out of this cycle and do well for oneself.

More recently, standardized testing has been introduced as the most influential factor in measuring one’s intelligence.

This has proven time and time again, according to Trafton, a noted writer and researcher for MIT, those students coming from lower socioeconomic backgrounds perform, on average, significantly lower than their wealthier counterparts. Aside from the student, government officials and colleges also hold a vested interest in this problem because of the great economic cost that a change would introduce.

According to Trafton, however, there is little research available that discerns whether outside forces such as better schools and resources actually change the efficiency of the brain, or if they just better prepare students for standardized testing and other measures of intelligence. Without some sort of change, there will continue to be little socioeconomic diversity entering certain schools and jobs.

The Limited Scope of Testing Intelligence is not something that can be quantified in one uniform way (Hurley).

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Not everyone excels at math and english, but because one does not have to master every subject to have great intellect, this does not take away from their overall intelligence. The lack of representation for certain fields of knowledge and skillsets is one of the major issues of measuring intelligence through standardized testing. Although the ACT includes a small section for science, the SAT and ACT, the United States’ most influential tests, focus on mathematics and english, ignoring almost entirely history and the sciences (Hudlow). This lack of representation is enough to limit the full measure of intelligence of anyone with an acceptable level of knowledge in these core subjects, let alone those who are members of a disadvantaged socioeconomic background.

A study performed by researchers at Harvard University and MIT explores the “achievement gap” and studies the differences in brain function and structure between students of high and low socioeconomic backgrounds. Because of the thoroughness of the study and the fact that it was performed over several years by a variety of qualified individuals, this source can be deemed reliable. This study shows that the environment that one grows up in has a serious effect on brain growth and development. Those that grow up with a lower socioeconomic status tend to have less exposure to complex language use, adequate resources, and more exposure to stress, all which have been proven to be significant detriments to academic achievement (Trafton). For many, this underexposure to necessary resources is caused by a lack of parental presence or guidance, likely due to the need to work excessively, which means that children will not receive necessary language skills and guidance through bedtime stories, access to books, and grammar correction at a young age.

Because standardized tests focus on language and grammar, those coming from a lower socioeconomic status are greatly disadvantaged. For those coming from higher socioeconomic status, however, this is proven to be greatly advantageous due to the students’ exposure to certain nurturing stimulus. Because of this advantage, some students are less likely to want a change in intelligence measures. Intelligence is a factor in more fields than just language and mathematics skills (Hurley). Without a wider scope of testing, the student who is particularly innovative and savvy with computer skills but does not have perfect grammar is greatly underestimated and denied future opportunities (Baer). Not only does it limit the percentage of students that will excel, but the tests’ disregard for the sciences also discredits anyone focusing on these subjects for a specific field in medicine. By further limiting the measure of intelligence, a large percentage of the population is not recognized for their intellect and achievements.

The Extent of Quantifying Intelligence Standardized tests such as the SAT and ACT are designed to assess a student’s aptitude in a few common core subjects. They test an array of skills in math and question many different grammar and logic concepts. However, much of the knowledge needed to perform adequately on these assessments requires no more than a few sessions of test preparation, focusing on memorization and test-taking skills, and a fundamental exposure to these skills from a young age. According to Hudlow, the goal of standardized testing is to “find out what you are able to memorize”. Once again, this childhood exposure to certain language skills tends to benefit those students of higher socioeconomic status because of more access to these classes that teach how to approach standardized tests and the likelihood that they have more free time that they can spend studying and memorizing the right concepts in order to have the temporary knowledge to do well on the tests.

Changing these tests mean that students will be required to actually learn material and master the application of logic and concepts (Hudlow). This would ensure that students were having more of their understanding tested, rather than their memorization: meaning that all students would have to put in the same amount of work for the desired results. The Resources Required to do Succeed As the saying goes, practice makes perfect. This generalization is applicable to increasing intelligence. For some, this is not quite as easy as for others. For many subjects, certain tools and resources are necessary for success, but these can be difficult and even impossible to obtain for many students from a lower socioeconomic status.

A study conducted by Sophie Stumm and Robert Plomin concludes that children from lower-income families typically do poorer on standardized testing than those from higher-income families and typically had slower development when it comes to IQ. The study also shows, however, that when provided with adequate resources, such as tutoring and help with test preparation, they often perform to and past the extent of their wealthier peers. Additionally, the cost to take both the ACT and SAT hover above $50. While not excessive, this kind of money can go a long way in lower-income households. For many, this means that the tests can only be taken once if any. Because most colleges chose to “super-score” results, students greatly benefit from taking the tests multiple times. Because of this, students from higher socioeconomic statuses are usually able to perform much better.

A Call to Action One solution that is already in place today is a form of affirmative action that favors a more disadvantaged demographic over another. While this may appear to provide a solution to help disadvantaged students succeed, a study of this type of program at Oxford shows that when students are given opportunities that they are not prepared for and would not have earned had they not been a part of this program, they often are not able to maintain the grades or skills to keep up with this new opportunity, and therefore end up no better off than they were before and a qualified candidate is out of an opportunity (Zimdars). Changing standardized tests would also be very expensive. The only solution that has been proven to work and is ethically sound is to implement programs at disadvantaged schools that give extra tutoring, help, and other skills to gifted children that seek it, along with funding to provide students with necessary books and pay any fees associated with these standardized tests. By having these resources readily available, students will be more likely to have the motivation and ability to succeed.