Intelligence tests and standardized tests are widely used throughout many different fields (psychology, education, business, etc.) because of their ability to assess and predict performance. However, their uses and applications in society are often criticized. Those criticisms usually concern the use and applications of these measures.
The Issue of Validity
Intelligence tests (such as IQ tests) have always been controversial; critics claim that they measure factors other than intelligence. They also cast doubt on the validity of IQ tests and whether IQ tests actually measure what they claim to measure—intelligence. Some argue that environmental factors, such as quality of education and school systems, can cause discrepancies in test scores that are not based on intelligence. Other argue that an individual's test-taking skills are being evaluated rather than their intelligence.
The field of psychometrics is devoted to the objective measurement of psychological phenomena, such as intelligence. Psychometricians have sought to make intelligence tests more culture fair and valid over the years, and to make sure that they measure g, or the "general intelligence factor" thought to underly all intelligence.
Prediction of Social Outcomes
Another criticism lies in the use of intelligence and standardized tests as predictive measures for social outcomes. Researchers have learned that IQ and general intelligence (g) correlate with some social outcomes, such as lower IQs being linked to incarceration and higher IQs being linked to job success and wealth. However, it is important to note that correlational studies only show a relationship between two factors: they give no indication about causation. As a result, critics of intelligence testing argue that intelligence cannot be used to predict such outcomes, and that environmental factors are more likely to contribute to both IQ test results and later outcomes in life.
The controversy surrounding using intelligence and standardized tests as predictive measures for social outcomes is, at its core, an ethical one. Consider the implications if employers decided to use intelligence tests as a way to screen prospective employees in order to predict which individuals will be successful in a job. This misapplication of intelligence testing is considered unethical, because it provides a measure for discriminating against fully qualified individuals. Again, even if intelligence scores correlate with job success, this does not mean that people with high intelligence will always be successful at work.
Standardized Test Scores and Intelligence
Another criticism points out that standardized tests that actually measure specific skills are misinterpreted as measures of intelligence. Researchers examined the correlation between the SAT exam and two other tests of intelligence and found a strong relationship between the results. They concluded that the SAT is primarily a test of g or general intelligence. However, correlational studies provide information about a relationship, not about causation. Using a standardized test like the SAT, which is designed to measure scholastic aptitude, as a measure of intelligence is outside the scope of the tests' intended usage, even if the two do correlate.
Critics of standardized tests also point to problems associated with using the SAT and ACT exams to predict college success. According to recent research, the SAT and ACT have been found to be poor predictors of college success. Standardized tests don't measure factors like motivational issues or study skills, which are also important for success in school. Predicting college success is most reliable when a combination of factors is considered, rather than a single standardized test score.
Student taking test
Students take the SAT and/or ACT exam in order to gain admittance to college.
Bias
A similar controversy surrounding the use of intelligence tests surrounds whether or not these tests are biased such that certain groups have an advantage over other groups. Questions of bias raise similar questions to the questions around whether intelligence tests should be used to predict social outcomes. For example, the relationship between wealth and IQ is well-documented. Could this mean that IQ tests are biased toward wealthy individuals? Or does the relationship go the other way? If there are statistically significant group differences in IQ, whether based on race, gender, socioeconomic status, age, or any other division, it is important to take a look at the intelligence test in question to make sure that there are no differences in testing method that give one group an advantage over others along any dimension other than intelligence.
Additionally, IQ cannot be said to describe or measure all possible cultural representations of intelligence. Various cultures value different types of mental abilities based on their cultural history, and the IQ test is a highly westernized construct. As such, IQ tests are also criticized for assessing only those particular areas emphasized in the western conceptualization of intelligence, such as problem-solving, and failing to account for other areas such as creativity or emotional intelligence.
IQ tests are often criticized for being culturally biased. A 2005 study stated that IQ tests may contain cultural influences that reduce their validity as a measure of cognitive ability for Mexican-American students, indicating a weaker positive correlation relative to sampled white American students. Other recent studies have questioned the culture-fairness of IQ tests when used in South Africa. Standard intelligence tests, such as the Stanford-Binet, are often inappropriate for children with autism, and may have resulted in incorrect claims that a majority of children with autism are mentally retarded.