SusanÆs high school intelligence scores were only average, but she is a brilliant pianist and a highly acclaimed ballet dancer. This suggests that intelligence and ability are two different things. It also suggests that the reliability and validity of intelligence tests is suspect. The fact is, ômaking a valid intelligence test is not a straightforward task because there is little consensus on a precise definition of intelligenceö (ôIntelligence Quotientö).
There are a number of reasons that test results cannot be considered the sum of someoneÆs intelligence. Some people that are extremely intelligent do not do well on tests due to anxiety about test-taking. Others do not get the ôrightö answers because they can see how some of the wrong answers could be right; this is a function of poor test-making. Sometimes the person taking the test is actually more intelligent than the person who created it. So-called ôintelligenceö tests do not really measure intelligence in its purest form, since people from a disadvantaged background can score lower on these tests just from not having been exposed to everything mentioned on the test. Furthermore, being able to get a good score on an intelligence test is not as valuable as being able to make the right decision in an emergency, so wisdom is of infinitely more value than intelligence. Some students are intelligent but have learning disabilities such as dyslexia that cause them to do poorly on exams. Finally, some students learn in different ways than others. Susan may be a student who learns better by doing than by seeing or hearing; this could put her at a disadvantage on a test, but it is not an indication that she has lower intelligence.
Intelligence Quotient. Sify Education. Retrieved on December 2, 2005 from: http://sify.com/education/fullstory.php?id=13527179&page=1
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