Alfred Binet Iq Testing

Findings

When psychologist Alfred Binet developed a test to measure the intellectual skills of French schoolchildren in 1904, he could not have possibly imagined how his research would change the world. In the last century, IQ and achievement tests have changed the face of education and employment all over the industrialized world. Given modern regarding IQ testing, one might ask how Binet viewed intelligence. Binet equated intelligence with common sense. He called intelligence "judgment…good sense…the faculty of adapting one 's self to circumstances." Binet also believed that intelligence is a combination of many skills - skills that are shaped heavily by the environment. His research goal was to help teachers adapt their teaching methods to the needs and abilities of individual students. Students with a weakness in math, for example, could receive special attention in this specific area.

Things changed when IQ and achievement tests were transplanted to America. Some researchers continued to believe that intelligence is a learned combination of many different skills and abilities. Others, however, assumed that intelligence is a single trait that is heavily determined by genetics. Some people further assumed that there are large ethnic or racial differences in general intelligence. A new wave of research now supports Binet 's

Despite all the controversy surrounding intelligence testing, few people would call for a wholesale abandonment of any form of testing under any circumstances. Thus, IQ and achievement tests are likely to be around for many years to come. This drives home the point that more research is needed to try to ensure that tests are used to maximize learning opportunities for all students - rather than becoming an additional barrier to some children 's achievement. Much is being done, but there is much more left to