The objective was to secure the survival of the fittest the fittest were the smarter ones the smarter ones got higher scores. When the first tests came out, the idea was not to use the test results for educational innovation to create new teaching strategies that could work to improve different ways of learning. This way of thinking influenced even the way people constructed and shared knowledge. At the beginning of the 20th century, an evolutionist philosophy dominated science and humanities. To understand the weak point of intelligence tests, we need to take into consideration the time in which they were created. But like every other scientific breakthrough, this one was linked to the perceptions and cultural dimensions of the academicians who created and applied its set of criteria.Ĭultural bias and the use of IQ tests as a political weapon The test was so successful that it is still being used today in both children and adults to measure cognitive capacity and the potential for success. The test classified children's performances according to their intellectual aptitudes and their skills to solve exercises that required abilities in math, logic, reading, reasoning, and adaptation. In 1916, Terman published a revised version of the Binet-Simon scale, created by the French psychologists Alfred Binet and Theodore Simone. The Lewis Terman intelligence test gave them just what they needed to build this filtering system. Those who faired lower would have their educational opportunities diminished in comparison. From the general population, those who were on the higher strata would get the best education. In the early 1900s, psychologists, academicians, and politicians were looking for criteria to rank access to education. The purpose of these tests was not to enrich the educational offerings but to filter them. Nonetheless, IQ tests are barely a century old, and their origins are not as noble as we might believe. Inter-rater - two or more individuals have a high agreement on a score and therefore the measurement of behaviour is reliable External - the methods used to measure behaviour receive the same or similar results when replicated Internal - whether a procedure in a study can be replicated eg.Ideally, to generate a resource that helps us understand cognitive capacity and the potential for success is so necessary that we cannot even imagine an educational system without this. Who is the study meant to b representative of? Can it be generalised?Ĥ Reliability This refers to how controlled and consistent a study is Does IQ testing really measure intelligence?) Concurrent – does the test relate to an already existing measurement? Ecological – does the task/experiment reflect that of real life? Internal – does the test measure what is intended to or has other extraneous factors influencing? Population – Is the sample representative of the wider target population of the study Construct – does the test relate to underlying theoretical concepts? External – looks at factors outside of the study. 2 Validity This refers to the extent to which the test measures what it claims to measure If an IQ test actually measures intelligence = valid However, many argue it is not that it is an invalid measurement Reliability This refers to how controlled and consistent a study is A friend who is consistently late = reliable with latenessģ Validity This refers to the extent to which the test measures what it claims to measure Face – does the test appear to test what it aims to test? (EG.