Intelligence refers to academic or cognitive intelligence and relates to one’s ability to obtain knowledge and to use it to solve problems. In its most simple terms, it is the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills. Measuring intelligence has nuances and caveats that have persisted since it was started to be measured. The following is an overview of measuring intelligence through IQ tests. No test is perfect, nor is any testing method. While IQ tests are generally accepted and popular today, they have gone through multiple revisions and adaptations since their inception.
Intelligence testing began widely used and accepted at the beginning of the 20th century. At that time, the government in France made school attendance compulsory. Since school was compulsory, they wanted to have a way to identify which children would need special assistance in school as early as possible. Alfred Binet and Theodore Simon created a series of questions that allowed them to assess a person’s attention span, remember facts, and solve problems. They quickly become able to predict the likelihood of success in school with what is now referred to as the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Test.
Soon they realized that certain children could answer advanced questions beyond their age and vice versa. They came to realize that the mental age was different than biological age. The mental age is expressed in a numerical form called the intelligence quotient (IQ). A child or adult IQ is calculated by having a person take an intelligence test. The IQ is expressed as the chronical age for which a given level of performance is typical. An individual’s mental age is then divided by their chronological age and multiplied by 100 yielding the Intelligence Quotient (IQ). If the student has identical chronological and mental age, they will have an IQ of 100, the average intelligence. If a 10-year-old has the mental age of a 13-year-old, their IQ would be 130, well above the average. The test essentially lets you know if your child is ahead or behind compared to other children of the same age.
Different theories explain different forms of intelligence. General Intelligence believes there is a sole factor of intelligence called the G factor that governs all cognitive abilities. The second main theory assumes there are multiple intelligence, that there are different independent forms of intelligence. The idea of multiple intelligences overlaps with what we measure with an IQ test. In the practice and science of IQ tests, there are usually four types of intelligence that are distinguished. Typically, they found that someone who is an intelligent person will score higher on all components, then someone less intelligent. At that time, Binet and Simon found it to be rare that someone would do extremely good in one segment and very bad in another.
The four main intelligence types used in IQ testing are:
Verbal Intelligence is the ability to use, learn, and understand language. Large vocabulary and the ability to understand quickly different texts are indicators of high verbal intelligence.
Numerical Intelligence is evaluated using a mix of logical calculations and pure calculations. Since numerical problems can be expressed with words, this also involves verbal intelligence.
Spatial Intelligence involves the ability to think and reason about objects in the three dimensions. The ability to mentally rotate objects or discovery order in shapes are common questions to measure special intelligence.
Logical intelligence is an overreaching ability to includes the other three aspects of intelligence. One may ask to draw the right conclusions to questions using the other aspects of intelligence.
Though these four types of intelligence are most likely to be assessed, there is are many other types of intelligence. American Psychology Howard Gardner identifies nine different forms of intelligence including, naturalistic (nature smart), Musical (sound smart), Existential (life smart), Interpersonal (people smart), Bodily-kinesthetic (body smart), Linguistic (word smart), and Spatial (picture smart). Different forms of intelligence may be present in children and youth that are not correlated with one’s IQ score. There are also different factors that can impact one’s IQ and scores on cognitive assessments such as their developmental age, biology, poverty, nutrition, education, prejudices, mental illness, stress, and cultural factors.
There are a number of different types of intelligence tests that measure different abilities and aspects of intelligence. Though each intelligence test is related, one can receive different scores depending if the assessments are measuring a single factor or a variety of factors. You also want to be sure that the intelligence test is administered and interpreted by a trained professional. Also, that the test was adequately developed and has research demonstrating its validity and reliability.
Currently, the primary assessments that are used to measure intelligence are:
- Stanford-Binet Intelligence
- Wechsler-Adult Intelligence Scale
- Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children
- Wechsler Primary & Preschool Scale of Intelligence
When completing an intelligence test, a person will go through a number of different tasks. They will complete mathematical problems, answer questions verbally, and complete a variety of tasks that require eye-hand coordination. The questions start easier and get progressively more difficult. If one is unsure of an answer, they are usually allowed to guess. Some have a time limit and require the person to work as quickly as possible.
An individual is given a raw score on an intelligence test that is converted to a standard score. The standard score allows the examiner to compare the individual score to other people who have taken the test. Often there are a number of areas individuals receive scores in, but most intelligence tests generate an overall intelligence quotient an IQ.
Intelligence and intellectual ability assessments allow for early identification and intervention for children and youth that are struggling in school. If a child is found not to be performing at their level, support can be put in place for them to improve their cognitive abilities and quality of life.