Over reliance on IQ results is alive and well

June 5, 2012 - PRLog -- Dear Dr. Fournier:

This past semester, my daughter did not do very well in a history course. She made a C, but she has always been an A and B student. I went to the school to discuss whether she needed any help during the summer.

I was told that I should be happy with the way my daughter was doing in school because she was, in their words, "performing past her I.Q. level.” They might as well have slapped me in the face.  I was furious.

What does this mean? My daughter is in eighth grade. Does that mean for those years of schooling, she has been stretching herself and that she is to be viewed as someone who lacks ability and simply gets it because she tries hard? Does that mean her teachers don't see her as the bright student she is because they believe a stupid test more than what she proves herself everyday in the classroom?

My daughter will not return to that school, and I hope parents who read this will understand that schools have no right to· pigeonhole our children"

Jerry H.
Seattle, WA

Dear Jerry:

ASSESSMENT:

A test, like a yardstick, is only one form of measurement.  This point cannot be stressed enough. If you want to measure someone's physical body, you might use a yardstick to measure height but then also a scale to determine weight, your eyes to view features such as the color of hair and eyes, or perhaps medical tests for blood and tissue type.

If you use a yardstick alone, your information is completely one-dimensional– it's nowhere close to the whole picture.  The same treatment should also be given to standardized tests, but like the I.Q. score, the hard numbers are read as a complete and faultless assessment of a child.  I cannot fault the educational system for the desire to simplify the assessment process so that they can collect data on the children, but this method has overstepped it’s boundaries as an indicator and has entered the realm of being a verdict.

The same is true of I.Q. tests but with the way our culture reveres them, you would hardly know it. They are only one measurement of a child's potential success in school. But students need more than just good grades to succeed in life, which is why teachers and schools should not blow the results of I.Q. tests out of proportion. Instead, parents must define for themselves what "bright" means, and how to measure it.
WHAT TO DO  

Make a list of what "bright" means and how these qualities might be measured, In terms of school, does bright mean:

• A person who can memorize an answer and give it back every time?

• A person who sees something new in a question and answers with that new thought - even if the answer is marked "wrong"?

• A person who answers within time limits the exact thing that someone else had already decided was the answer?

• A person who has had a life experience that makes him answer correctly but not in words that are considered "correct"?

• A child who has a high I.Q. and can't figure out where to start?

• A child who knows how to think through and get the job done independently?

• A student who reads voraciously but can't do math?

• A student who understands correlations in math but can't see the relationship of Great Expectations to his life?

As parents, you decide the standards and the measurements for your child's success.

When your child changes schools next fall, start with a frank discussion with teachers and school administrators to make sure that you share a "bright" outlook.


CONTACT DR. FOURNIER

Have a question about education, education-related issues or your child’s schoolwork or homework? Ask Dr. Fournier and look for her answer in this column. E-mail your question or comment to Dr. Yvonne Fournier at drfournier@hfhw.net.