Is there a good way to test child intelligence and does such testing really serve a purpose?

 

                                                

 

In previous decades, many of individuals might have survived on looks and image alone, however, since I could remember, intelligence has been important and highly thought about in forms of measurement for children. In fact, over the previous decades, adults have researched their significant other’s intellect prior to procreating with them in the attempts to reproduce a child with an extremely high intellect. Therefore, these concerns and interests bring about the question of what is the best way or idea of testing a child’s intelligence?  “In ancient times, if an adult was strong and fertile, that was enough, worthy of admiration” (Berger, 2014, p.334). “By the twentieth century, however, cognitive abilities had become important; a stupid person, even if strong and fertile, was not admired” (Berger, 2014, p.334).

“Because the mind became increasingly significant, many ways to measure intellect were developed” (Berger, 2014, p. 334).  However, theory has it “Aptitude is the potential to master a specific skill or learn a certain body of knowledge” (Berger, 2014, p. 334).Therefore, the IQ, and Achievement tests were brought about. However, some of these tests brought about criticisms because “the fact that scores change, a more fundamental question is whether any single test can measure the complexities of the human brain” (Berger, 2014, p.335). Some Critics and theorists suggest’ “One way to measure the mind might be to measure the brain directly, avoiding the pitfalls of written exams or individual questions” (Berger, 2014, p. 336).

 Test results don't necessarily indicate achievement, but rather, tend to be much more accurate indicators of the size of a student's house or the income of the student's parents.  Research has indicated that the amount of poverty found in a community, and other factors that have absolutely nothing to do with what happens in the classroom, account for the great majority of differences in test scores from one area to another. 

Finland is a small country with the share of its adult population with some sort of postsecondary education, however, is rather large. Finland is also one of only two countries, the other being Korea, in which the fields of social sciences, business and law are not the most popular among students. In Finland, new entrants are most likely to study engineering, manufacturing and construction. In Finland, belief is also that, “Iintelligence is such an elusive and relative concept that even the experts cannot agree on its nature”.  

In conclusion, people in Finland and many others believe intelligence depends on many things: daily diet, physical and mental exercise, emotional state, stress, and so on. It is not fixed or static, so one can improve it by a combination of techniques that suit the individual. In spite of the developments in cognitive science and medicine, measuring intelligence is still in its crawling stage and open for research.

Reference:

http://www.standardizedtesting.net/

http://skeptikai.com/2012/04/16/the-ten-most-educated-and-smartest-countries-in-2012/

http://www.fountainmagazine.com/Issue/detail/Measuring-Intelligence

Berger, K.S. (2014). The developing person through childhood (6^th ed. pp 334-337).

New York, NY: Worth Publishers.