In Graham’s Schooling America, a historical account of the development of school practices throughout history is presented. In the 1920’s, Lewis Terman created an intelligence test and eventually this test was administered on a wide scale (Graham, 2005, p. 72). This tool was used to identify gifted children who might benefit from additional services, and also to provide resources to those who did measure up to standards. After an analysis of scores, Terman recognized that race correlated with scores, and attributed this to hereditary differences in intelligence (Educational Resources Information Center, p. 11). He interpreted this as an indication of Anglo-Saxon superiority in intelligence. Also this was due to the widespread conception of
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Specifically, the two main types of intelligence are called crystallized and fluid (Ford, 2004, p.25). Crystallized intelligence is acquired knowledge and fluid intelligence is one’s ability to logically problem solve in new situations. Crystallized intelligence depends heavily on one’s life and schooling experiences. In addition, Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences displays the complexity involved in the word “intelligence.” His theory includes bodily-kinesthetic, musical, linguistic, logical-mathematical, interpersonal, and intrapersonal all as types of intelligence (Law, 1995, p. 7). Thus, this expands greatly from popular thinking of the early 20th century. The implications of these different types of intelligence led to varying interpretations of what “gifted” means and how to address the multifaceted dimension in terms of school-provided services. Current definitions of gifted do not include all of these factors and hence do not develop these talents in …show more content…
Reliability in tests across different days highlights that a test is a single day in student’s schooling experience. The racial makeup of the standardization sample for a test often includes very few minority students. Thus, minority students are taking tests normed for white students (Ford, 2004, pg. 6). Additionally validity plays a role in measuring if a test actually tests what it is intending. Often, verbal and language skills are included in other tests. For example, if a math test has a word problem, then a student may score lower not because of math ability but because of reading ability. Test bias is when one group of students scores higher or lower than another group. The consequences of using a test score in a decision-making process is the consequential validity of a test (Warne, 2013, p. 490). Currently, tests are biased towards white middle-to-upper class students, using the language and examples familiar to them. The assumption built into the test is that students will have equal experience with the test material, however this is often not the case with minority and lower SES students (Ford, 2004, pg. 6). For example, the Weschler Intelligence Scale for Children-Third Edition and the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale Fourth Edition historically yield lower scores for minority students (Ford, 2004, p. 8). However, these biased tests are still often used in
Specifically, the two main types of intelligence are called crystallized and fluid (Ford, 2004, p.25). Crystallized intelligence is acquired knowledge and fluid intelligence is one’s ability to logically problem solve in new situations. Crystallized intelligence depends heavily on one’s life and schooling experiences. In addition, Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences displays the complexity involved in the word “intelligence.” His theory includes bodily-kinesthetic, musical, linguistic, logical-mathematical, interpersonal, and intrapersonal all as types of intelligence (Law, 1995, p. 7). Thus, this expands greatly from popular thinking of the early 20th century. The implications of these different types of intelligence led to varying interpretations of what “gifted” means and how to address the multifaceted dimension in terms of school-provided services. Current definitions of gifted do not include all of these factors and hence do not develop these talents in …show more content…
Reliability in tests across different days highlights that a test is a single day in student’s schooling experience. The racial makeup of the standardization sample for a test often includes very few minority students. Thus, minority students are taking tests normed for white students (Ford, 2004, pg. 6). Additionally validity plays a role in measuring if a test actually tests what it is intending. Often, verbal and language skills are included in other tests. For example, if a math test has a word problem, then a student may score lower not because of math ability but because of reading ability. Test bias is when one group of students scores higher or lower than another group. The consequences of using a test score in a decision-making process is the consequential validity of a test (Warne, 2013, p. 490). Currently, tests are biased towards white middle-to-upper class students, using the language and examples familiar to them. The assumption built into the test is that students will have equal experience with the test material, however this is often not the case with minority and lower SES students (Ford, 2004, pg. 6). For example, the Weschler Intelligence Scale for Children-Third Edition and the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale Fourth Edition historically yield lower scores for minority students (Ford, 2004, p. 8). However, these biased tests are still often used in